The 4th Grade Wall and Summer Vacation Without After-School Care: How Our Dual-Income, Office-Based Family Learned to 'Self-Manage'

"If we stop after-school care, how should we spend summer vacation?"
"How can my child stay safe and productive while I'm at work?"

The summer my daughter entered fourth grade, I was filled with such anxiety.
I work for a foreign-owned company and generally go into the office every day.
Even though she's 10, leaving my still-laid-back daughter home alone was, honestly, "too worrying..."

However, this environment of "no after-school care" became the catalyst for my daughter to think for herself and take action—her "self-management."

In this blog, I've compiled our family's realistic "daily summer vacation schedule,"
how we used Alexa as a partner to prevent tardiness,
and stories about how making bento lunches changed our parent-child communication.

This is a record I hope reaches moms and dads who are currently nervous about facing the "4th Grade Wall."
I hope it makes your heart feel a little lighter, thinking, "Maybe it'll be okay after all!"

▼ Continue reading the article here

#MiddleSchoolExam #PublicIntegratedMiddleSchool #4thGradeWall #HowToSpendSummerVacation #DualIncomeParenting #WorkingMomDailyLife #SelfStudy #ParentingHacks #LifeWithAlexa #EducationMom #ForeignCompanyWorkingMom #AssetManagement #RakutenSecurities #MindfulLiving #SelfManagement