Independence

I value independence. My goal is for children to be able to do most self-maintenance tasks as early as possible. This means that I spend extra time teaching them things like how to wash their hands and how to pour milk. I teach them how to pick up after themselves. I teach them how to hang their coats up. Why do I do these things?

Because I’m lazy. When the weekend rolls around I don’t want to have to supervise my son while he washes his hands. I don’t want to clean up the living room every day before I can go to bed. I want my kid to be able to go get himself some water when he’s thirsty. And I think that you, as a parent, deserve that break, too.

This means that, occasionally, I’ll send home a page detailing what we’re working on at school. This might mean a little more work for you in the short term, but by teaching the children how and when to wash their hands, everyone will be sick less often, which ultimately means less (unpaid and thankless) work for everyone. When we teach children how to clean up after themselves, it offers the opportunity for you to extend that same method into your home.

There’s nothing in the contract that forces you to follow up on these things, but if you have the time and emotional energy to spend on it, you’ll be repaid handsomely.