Label Makers
Posted by Rachel Balducci in Family on Monday, August 31, 2009 9:38 PM
Last week, the boys and I went out of town to take care of a farm for some friends. The couple went North to visit their daughter, who is a cloistered nun, and we had the opportunity to spend some time in the country caring for the chickens and rabbits, the duck, dog and cat.
Upon our return, we were greeted to the chaos of home repair and the last week before school starts, which leads me to today’s question.
Do you let your children label their own school supplies?
This is a hard thing for me to do, mostly because I really enjoy the art of organizing and labeling, of marking off the school supply lists and getting things packed just so.
Last year I noticed my sixth-grader taking some initiative with his own list. I was happy to let him search for the items he needed at the store, but it was a challenge when we got home and started to sort—he wanted to handle everything on his own. I realized, of course, that this was the ideal. I did a quick fast-forward and saw that I did not want to be the mother labeling and packing for a high schooler.
This year, boy number two is going into fifth grade and he is taking similar strides. He has his supplies up in his room, and he has labeled them all. Again, I find myself struggling to let go. Again, I see the damage not letting go can do.
And so, I allow the boys this joy. To me, letting go is indeed hard, but the healthy solution is to give them this responsibility, double check their work, and enjoy the fact that the other two school boys have absolutely no interest in handling their school supplies on their own.
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