My life is going crazy and I need to get organized. Argh!

I did not realize what a big transition it is for Kat to go to Kindergarten.

For those not in the US, kindergarten is actually part of the public school system here. Unless we move (which we are not.. more on that another time), Kat will be going to this school for the next 7 years.

Anyways, we drop Kat off at the on-site day care program anytime between 7 and 8 in the morning, and the day care teachers will walk the kindergartners to class at 8.30am. She will then come and pick them up when call ends at 11.50am. Yes, kindergarten at our area is that short i.e. only 3 hours and 20 minutes. Blame this on California’s huge population of kids and not having enough schools.

So Kat will then have lunch at school, and spend her afternoons there. She has the choice of either doing homework or playing. We have been talking to her and trying to convince her that she needs to get started on her homework at day care, rather than starting it at home. This is because by the time hubby or myself gets home, she is deliriously sleepy and is in no condition to do homework. And of course, I am also super tired and hence not so patient myself.

She was so whiny and doing such a sloppy job on her writing the other evening, I got so mad and made her erase her work and redo it because it was not ‘perfect’. I made my daughter cry… L So sad to see her tearing up. Based on the information we got on Parent’s night, the amount of time for homework at the kindergarten level is at a minimum 10-15 minutes daily. But looking at Kat’s regular homework level (& plus she does it in the evenings when she is tired), it takes her more than double that time!

And to add on to it, her teacher gives her additional homework during the middle of the week!!! Well, these are optional, but if the kids complete them properly and on-time, they get rewarded by additional stars i.e. points, and get gifts based on the number of stars they have.

Aiyaiyai... Kat was placed in the first class of her kindergarten. I think the expectation is higher for kids in that class. All my worrying she was not ready for kindergarten, and she was assessed to be competent enough for the first class. Geez…..

Ok, Ok.. so what am I getting at.

Well, I need to better at my time-management. I need to get her lunch bag ready the night before (at least the snacks part and to figure out what she wants for lunch), and also her homework folder ready.

I need to wake up earlier so I am not a mad women rushing out of the house and then getting stuck in traffic. So then I can leave the office earlier to do homework with Kat. Life is hectic…..

Hmmm.. We are seriously considering cutting down my work hours. Will probably do so next year after my maternity leave ends for baby boy. Will probably drop down to 75% of workload i.e. pay drops by that amount too. Will just have to figure our whether to cut down on the daily hours worked, or to work 4 days instead of 5 per week.

What do you think?