You are a brave mommy. I'd have such a hard time sending my kids to a sleep-away camp. MO was at his aunt's house for the last three days and I missed him like oxygen. He came home last night around 10:30, and I let him talk my ear off until 1:30 in the morning.
I know! He lobbied us hard to attend camp the first year possible (summer between 1st & 2nd grade) because all his older cousins were going, and one was a counselor. Now, it's as much for the friends as anything* and he clearly has a blast. Last summer was the year his age group went from 12 days to 23 days and it was a tough adjustment for me. Let's just say I spend way too much time on Bunk1.com looking for him in the day's photographs. Luckily for me, he's a bit of a ham and I can generally spot him at least once every day or two. The mail FROM camp picked up nicely as well!
I don't miss him like oxygen yet but I'll be there by the end of the week!
*also, there's the whole point of spending twenty-three days where being a Jewish kid is the norm. He really hasn't faced any anti-semitism that I know of but he is generally the only Jewish kid in a given class and the only Jew that most of his friends know. To spend time with four-hundred other Jewish kids and counselors (about half of whom are Israeli) is a totally different
Yup, yup. I can relate to that issue. Only once has one of my kids had another Witness in class. They've never had any problem because of it, but still, they love assemblies and congregation gatherings where the other kids are all Witnesses too. (This is actually why MO was at his aunt's all weekend. They were going to a district convention, and they always go out with other families with young people afterwards. It's also why he had so much to talk about!)
And between 1st and 2nd grade? Now I think you are a VERY brave mommy. That must've been really tough.
Looking for balancedremielJuly 14 2008, 17:20:49 UTC
This past year (fifth grade) the class had a three day trip to an Eco-camp for a Team Building/Leadership course and at a parents' meeting beforehand I was astounded by the number of kids who had apparently never slept away from home before. These were ten and eleven year olds who had never been on a sleepover, never stayed with an aunt or grandparent or cousin, some had never even had a sitter.
I completely understand your "missed him like oxygen" but was bewildered by the pervasive "How will I know he brushed his teeth?" level of parental control.
At the same meeting one of the parents, a university professor, was kvetching about parents who call her weekly about their kid's assignments or grades. I was agog. It's one thing to read about helicopter parents micromanaging their college-age children's lives and quite another to learn that it is happening everywhere.
Re: Looking for balancethekatebeyondJuly 14 2008, 18:06:49 UTC
I admit, my kids have never had a babysitter who wasn't a relative. And they've never slept over anywhere except a relative's house, or a hotel with a relative if they were going somewhere out of town. But they've never asked to, either. Most of their free time they elect to spend with their cousins. If either of them wanted to go on an overnight trip with school, I wouldn't hesistate. In fact, when MY was in fifth grade, I tried hard to convince him to go on the Washington, D.C. trip because I thought it would be a great experience. (But he's afraid of flying
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Re: Looking for balancedremielJuly 14 2008, 23:01:19 UTC
I think sleeping over with a relative or traveling with a relative is a great middle ground. It's the experience of being away from home and away from you and having a little taste of (perceived) independence that fosters confidence and emotional resilience. Well, that and having a loving home to sleep away from in the first place!
And yes, The whole concept of playdates, particularly playdates that you drive your child to, are so strange. We used to run pretty wild, really. And I don't think the world was any safer then. Still, I'm shopping cell phone plans for Middle School next year. Sigh.
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I don't miss him like oxygen yet but I'll be there by the end of the week!
*also, there's the whole point of spending twenty-three days where being a Jewish kid is the norm. He really hasn't faced any anti-semitism that I know of but he is generally the only Jewish kid in a given class and the only Jew that most of his friends know. To spend time with four-hundred other Jewish kids and counselors (about half of whom are Israeli) is a totally different
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And between 1st and 2nd grade? Now I think you are a VERY brave mommy. That must've been really tough.
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Glad that your MO had a big weekend!
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I completely understand your "missed him like oxygen" but was bewildered by the pervasive "How will I know he brushed his teeth?" level of parental control.
At the same meeting one of the parents, a university professor, was kvetching about parents who call her weekly about their kid's assignments or grades. I was agog. It's one thing to read about helicopter parents micromanaging their college-age children's lives and quite another to learn that it is happening everywhere.
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And yes, The whole concept of playdates, particularly playdates that you drive your child to, are so strange. We used to run pretty wild, really. And I don't think the world was any safer then. Still, I'm shopping cell phone plans for Middle School next year. Sigh.
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