Structure

This morning I am supposed to be getting ready for school, but this week I haven't been able to get it together and be motivated.  I think it's because it's been cold in the mornings.  Maybe I'm lazy.  Meanwhile, I hear Kara in the kitchen and it makes me chuckle.

You see, we start school at 9:30 (a time she and I agreed to), and every day she wakes herself up at 8:00 (a time she decided on).  She watches cartoons in bed to wake up and at precisely 8:30 (a time she decided on), she comes to the kitchen to eat breakfast and then feed her kitties.  After that, she is free to play minecraft, draw, read or watch more cartoons until school starts. I wake up whenever I do (whether that's 7:30 or 9:00), and try to make it to the homeschool room by 9:30.  Usually I still don't have my makeup on or am still in pjs.

When we started 7th grade, I wanted to give Kara more freedom with our school days and let her decide when to do each class I had assigned, but she couldn't figure out what to do with that and really didn't like it.  Finally, she asked me to just tell her exactly when to do each class.  Like, she wanted me to assign times, down to the minute.

Since she could talk, she has always asked what we are doing today.  She loves a plan and she loves a well thought out plan.  I know everyone knows I am like this, but did you know Michael is like this too?  For our first date, he had two options for me to choose from based on two different movie times (one option that was tighter to dinner, the other option with more time after dinner).  I knew he was the man for me with that one.  :-)

And now Kara is here, just like us.  I know she is old enough now to watch who we are and what we do and what we say and there is something to say for environmental influences.  But, I think this is one that has just been in Kara from the time she was very little.  I have a picture somewhere (that I can't find right now) of Kara lining up her toys in order, one by one.  This is so who she is.  Don't get me wrong, she can make a mess, she has a fairly sloppy room too, but she loves routine, order, and structure.

Since we homeschool, we are free from that kind of life, but when your kid craves it (and it's who you are too), we stick to it!

Here's to Kara.  I love her just the way she is.

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