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As I grabbed husband’s computer one night this week, my pajamas already on and propped up in bed, he just laughed.
He knew what I was up to. Heck, it’s what I’ve been up to every night since oldest finished his first day of junior high. Yep, I was logging onto my parent access account.
“That’s like porn for moms,” husband said.
He’s right. I can’t get enough of it. With just a few clicks of my mouse I’m venturing into son’s world, all of his grades, his attendance record. And it’s updated nearly every day.
Oh the heaven of it all.
I’m not what some call a helicopter mom, one who hovers over her child and can’t let him live his own life and make his own mistakes. No, I’m more the hot air balloon mom, the one who likes to float high above everything and just see and know what’s going on.
I don’t typically intrude or do things for him, I just like knowing what he has to do and whether or not he did. What's the harm in that?
I’m the ever-curious hot-air balloon mom.
Can you see why I love this Parent Access thing?
If he doesn’t turn in an assignment, I’ll know. ( Speaking of which, somehow an art drawing wasn’t turned in on Friday… ) If he gets an A on a test, I’ll know (sometimes he forgets to tell me these things, probably because I practically do a cheer sans pom poms in our living room. Yes, I can be annoying with things like that.)
And, let’s say he’s tardy because well, I practically had to do a hearty jog on parents’ night just to get to his classes on time. I’ll get to find out now about the tardy trouble instead of at conference time when they’ve stacked up.
Some may be saying, "Get a grip lady, you don’t have to know everything." Yeah, whatever.
If you have boys, you understand all of this. I hear girls are more inclined to talk, more inclined to actually speak in sentences instead of using monosyllabic or just plain vague answers to most questions.
“Have much homework?” I’ll ask.
“Naaa,” he answers, not looking up from the book he’s reading.
“What’s the best thing that happened at school today?”
“Lunch, I guess,” he says.
Not only do they give me this Parent Access thing, but his school’s announcements are also right there on the school’s website. I can find the lunch menu, too.
So now, I can read the announcements and ask son his opinion on things like dress code and new faculty members.
Who can I see about getting this kind of access for everyting. Sleepovers. School parties. Hanging out with friends.
Oh, Parent Access where have you been all my life? Or, at least the last seven years?
I noticed that the secondary schools in the Blue Springs school district are doing this starting this school year. I am so going to do it! My oldest daughter I don't have to hover so much because she is very responsible for her school work and studying for tests and such, but I really have to monitor my middle schooler. This will help us out tremendously.Girls talk more? In my experience, they talk more about all the things that you're not really interested in. Me: Have any home work? Her: No. Me (the next morning): What's the blank worksheet I just found while packing your backpack? Her: Oh, I forgot to do my homework! ... Sound familiar?We had this at our old school too. A wonderful tool. But, being on the other side of this program was sometimes a pain. We had parents sending us notes or calling inquiring about why certain scores weren't posted yet, why they got that grade & so on & I worked in kindergarten.I began having access to my ds's school life last year. Love it. I also have it set up to email me if he gets a failing grade or a zero. I usually know how he did on something before he does. Last year we were trying to get adhd meds right so I babysat him a bit more. This year I've told myself that I'll back off babysitting. I have to let him learn to swim on his own...we'll see how long I can keep that up. I'm just glad we didn't have this when I was a kid! :)My dd doesn't talk more. How was school. Fine. Did you learn anything? Yes. They just implemented this in our school so I will be using it.
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