[Parent of a Non-Attending Child] Canceling Challenge Touch is a Switch for Change

Hello! I'm Toshiko.
I am the mother of an eldest daughter (5th grade) who is happily staying home from school, and a second daughter (3rd grade) who is energetic but sometimes reluctant to go.

My eldest daughter is enrolled in Benesse's elementary school course.
It's called Challenge Touch, a tablet-based program that allows her to study while incorporating playful elements.

My eldest daughter has been completely absent from school since the second grade, but she has continued with Challenge Touch up until now, in the fifth grade.

However, today, just now!
I made the call to cancel it.

Every time she moved up a grade, I would wonder whether to continue or not.
Every year, my eldest daughter said she wanted to continue.
The number one reason was that she could read books.

Challenge Touch has an electronic library called Manabi Library, which is quite extensive. My eldest daughter looked forward to borrowing and reading books from the Manabi Library.

However, as for the studies, the content has become difficult in the fifth grade. It seems she also felt she couldn't move on to the sixth grade like this.

I discussed with my eldest daughter whether she should repeat the fifth grade or try starting from the third grade, etc.

And so, we decided to withdraw for now.

Because my eldest daughter hadn't completely stepped away from studying, I had been using Challenge Touch as my own source of peace of mind.

If she quits, she might not do anything at all.
I also had that thought.

"Studying is something children should do when they feel like doing it."

I have been told this many times before. I have also read it in books.
Even so, I still hadn't been able to fully believe it within myself.

Entering this year, when I was thinking that it would probably be impossible to continue with the 6th-grade Challenge next year,

I received a flyer for a private tutor.
It wasn't that the content was particularly amazing or anything, but that was when I thought:

When my eldest daughter truly wants to study someday, there will be a way.
There are even private tutors now who specialize in children who don't attend school. I will definitely find a way.

That was when I was finally able to let it sink into my heart.
That waiting for that day for my eldest daughter, and believing in her, is a promise to myself.

I believe in myself for deciding to believe.

And I also believe that if the time comes when I need to provide support, I am someone who can do it.

I won't be able to read books in the Manabi Library anymore, but maybe the days I go to the library will increase. Maybe the days we go outside will increase.
Canceling Challenge Touch might be a switch for change.

I will believe that.

Since we had been continuing it since the Kodomo Challenge days with Shimajiro, there is something deeply moving about withdrawing.
It gave us a lot of enjoyment for a long time. It helped us.

Right now, I am a mother of a child who doesn't attend school, filled with gratitude and a refreshed feeling.

Thank you for reading until the end! May you, with your kind heart, fully enjoy the nuances of your daily life 🍀.*