Last week, we ditched school.
After feeding the kiddos breakfast, I called the school, told them Kenley was sick, hopped in the car, and drove out to Underwood Family Farms. Now technically, she was (and still is) sick. So really, was I even lying when I said, "Kenley won't be at school today because she is sick."? She just wasn't sick enough to NOT go to the farm. Minor details people. Minor.
I'm sure that this blog post will raise some eyebrows. I have 15+ friends who are educators and will argue that every day of school is important. I agree! But I also think spending quality time with my kid is important.
This new chapter, the chapter where I have a kid at school for 6.5 hours, the chapter where free time is spent doing homework or driving around to extracurriculars, the chapter where we can't spend every day riding scooters, going to splash pads, and playing at museums...has been hard.
Kenley LOVES school. She really does. It's been amazing watching her grow and learn and make friends. We went from zero to sixty - no schooling to 6.5 hours a day! But as much as she loves it, I can tell she misses some things. When Eleanor and I go on a mini adventure, I can see in Kenley's face, that she misses those adventures. And we miss her too!
So last week, we ditched school. I lied to her teacher and I don't feel bad about it.
I don't feel bad about missing a day of school (we already missed a day for being legitimately sick, so we're not getting any sort of attendance award). I don't feel bad about spending extra time with my kid. I don't feel bad about playing with friends we only see every few months because they are in school now also. I don't feel bad about climbing haystacks, going down combine slides, feeding alpacas, getting lost in a corn maze, riding ponies and bee trains, brushing goats, or driving mini tractors. I don't feel bad about having fun! No way! It was an awesome day, with awesome friends, and my awesome kid deserved it.
The worksheets can wait. The crafts can wait. There will be many more over the next 13 years. Our one ditch day, well, it was worth it.
*Note: - Kenley has no idea I lied to the school. Don't want her thinking we can ditch whenever we want now can we!
Photos from our Ditch Day
