...but having parented my particular kid for these particular 5+ years, here are 10 things that I am sure of:
1) Thunderstorms (like last night's) will make her run to our room with her hands over her ears to crawl into bed with us.
2) Crawling into bed with us means no sleep for anyone.
3) EJ will not be any less full of energy despite this lack of sleep---in fact, she will be even more excited with life that she got to sleep in Mom and Dad's big bed---while we will be giant grumps, especially on a blurgy morning like today.
4) Every day, she will ask for cake, cookies, candy, etc., without fail.
5) Every day, I will say no, except on the rare day when I don't, and delight ensues.
6) EJ cares as much about the research on healthy eating as she did about the research on breastfeeding as a newborn (what, you didn't try to convince your reluctant newborn to latch-on because of all those research studies?), but that won't stop me from waxing poetic about eating broccoli when she asks for fruit snacks.
7) Homework can be done quickly after school on Monday, but becomes slower and slower to complete as the week goes on.
8) EJ's love of brokering a good deal is particularly heightened when she decides to capitalize on her homework malaise for the prospect of treats, (i.e., "Mom, here's a deal: I'll finish my spelling and then I can have a cookie, okay?")
9) I don't negotiate about homework or treats, but will give her a millions choices in almost any other regard, as long as it is not a "good behavior = sugary yum yum" proposition.
10) I enjoy her bartering almost more than anything, particularly given her ever expanding vocabulary, her flair for drama, her earnestness of purpose, and probably best of all, her genuine enjoyment in using good manners (i.e., "Mom, people really like it when I use my politeness.")
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I love that wacky little individual you're raising.
I also have to wonder -- if homework every night gets a bit much for THIS kid, who it comes easily to? What is it like in the homes of some of the other kids? I can't imagine they're all operating at her level even if they tested in.
It's so frustrating trying to get the kids the "appropriate educations" they deserve. It sounds like EJ's classroom experience is really great, so I guess the homework is just a little downside. But it boggles my mind that anyone thinks that 5-year-olds should spend their afternoons or evenings pushing themselves through a bunch of paperwork when they need to play. The whole school thing is so much more complicated than I ever expected.
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