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July 25, 2006
No way I'll be homeschooling this one
The other day I got out the broom to sweep the grass clippings off the sidewalk, then laid it down on the driveway while I chased Katie around. Jamie picked it up and started trying to push it sideways, effectively doing nothing. Since my job as a parent is to teach her how to do my dirty work, I figured it was my duty to teach her to sweep right.
I held the broom vertically, wrapped her hands around under mine, and showed her how to actually move grass with the bristles. After clearing one 10-inch swath, Jamie dropped to her knees crying about how she wanted to do it. She started pawing at the yard, trying to rake the grass we had just swept back onto the driveway, completely ignoring the fact that we have 50 more feet of unswept grass. As I was trying to talk her down from the cliffs of despair, she kept trying to take the broom from me, telling me to "Go sit down! Go sit down over there."
I suppose I should be applauding her independence, and I am. But would it kill her to let me try to teach her a thing or two every now and then?
Posted by me at July 25, 2006 9:44 PM