Playing Hooky

  I have a confession to make. I got Alex to play hooky today. To see a movie. Not just any movie. The Mockingjay Part 2. He has been asking me every day since it came out and we've never had time. So today I made time.

  Now I'm sure some of you won't agree with this. "A child's education is very important and if he isn't ill, he should be in school"... I can hear you say. "What kind of message are you sending him?"....heard that too.

   I don't consider an afternoon spent hanging out with mom a waste of time. He thought it was awesome that I wanted to watch this movie with him. Just us and a bag of popcorn. We talked about school. His teachers, classmates, projects and marks. All while waiting for Katniss to appear. Time well spent.

  In a few weeks we are off on a family vacation. That means both boys will miss the final week of school before Christmas break. Again I feel no guilt about taking them out. They have informed all their teachers and some even gave  projects to do while away to make up for missed time. Fair enough. Others said nothing except have fun.

  Kids can learn anywhere. In or out of a classroom. My kids are fairly well traveled and realize they are very lucky to live where they do. They see how others live, what they eat and how different their culture is from ours. That's a necessary part of education as well. 

  If you are able, I would highly recommend giving your child a hooky day. You don't need to do anything special. Or anything at all. Just be with your kid. Let them know they are important enough to spend time with one on one. Trust me they will remember it.

  Popcorn is optional.

  Ang