Making Friends 101
Taylor's first day of school was a success! In fact, she informed me this evening that she thinks she's going to continue going everyday... as if this were an option of sorts. Nevertheless, I'm glad she's on board, so I told her it was a good choice to keep going. So, I asked her all of the normal school questions: What did you do today? What did you eat for lunch? Did you make any friends? What were their names? It was the answer to the last question that left me wondering if we need to get her hearing checked. Taylor announced that she has three best friends and that their names are "Lucash, Zuke, and Leven". Now, unless her classroom is filled with hobbits, this seems highly unlikely to me. But since they are her "best friends", I will not judge... even if they ARE short with large, furry feet.
Cameron, on the other hand, is not only neglecting to learn his classmates names, he's neglecting his classmates altogether. The fact that he is continuously being held back from recess due to not being able to stay quiet when he's supposed to be listening or because he hasn't finished his assignments, probably isn't helping matters. (Begin tirade: My kid's impulsive.... he's going to talk. Maybe consequencing him by taking away his ONLY talking and running time isn't the best solution.... And since he has problems reading and he will always take longer to get his work done, is it fair to punish him? Cameron's NOT the "problem student" that I fear he's being labeled. He was in FIVE Kindergarten classes last year because of his awful family situations.... he has no idea how to make friends because he's never been anywhere long enough to learn.... he got behind academically and he has the lowest self-confidence a 6-year-old can.... have some compassion and let the boy play for 20 minutes! I anticipate parent-teacher conferences requiring Xanax and a box of tissues.... End tirade.)
Anyways, to help him make friends, and to improve his self-esteem, we decided to sign Cameron up for soccer (a few weeks past registration, so I literally know NOTHING about his team, where the field is, or who the coaches are.... best mom ever, right?). However, it didn't exactly occur to us that he wouldn't know what soccer is.... or that he is completely uncoordinated. So this could utterly backfire and make him feel even worse about himself (bring on the Xanax and box of tissues, again)! If only there were a sport or team-building activity that would allow him to dig holes, play with bugs, and look at tractors, all the while playing Angry Birds. Then he'd kick some 1st grade can! But until we're able to enroll him in John Deere school, we're going to give soccer a try and hope for the best. Feel free to come out and support our team (whatever our name is)... we're apparently the ones wearing green shirts this Saturday. I'll be the mom death-gripping her travel mug, chanting "please run the right way, please run the right way" and screaming like a maniac if my kid makes contact with the ball. GO TEAM!!!
Cameron, on the other hand, is not only neglecting to learn his classmates names, he's neglecting his classmates altogether. The fact that he is continuously being held back from recess due to not being able to stay quiet when he's supposed to be listening or because he hasn't finished his assignments, probably isn't helping matters. (Begin tirade: My kid's impulsive.... he's going to talk. Maybe consequencing him by taking away his ONLY talking and running time isn't the best solution.... And since he has problems reading and he will always take longer to get his work done, is it fair to punish him? Cameron's NOT the "problem student" that I fear he's being labeled. He was in FIVE Kindergarten classes last year because of his awful family situations.... he has no idea how to make friends because he's never been anywhere long enough to learn.... he got behind academically and he has the lowest self-confidence a 6-year-old can.... have some compassion and let the boy play for 20 minutes! I anticipate parent-teacher conferences requiring Xanax and a box of tissues.... End tirade.)
Anyways, to help him make friends, and to improve his self-esteem, we decided to sign Cameron up for soccer (a few weeks past registration, so I literally know NOTHING about his team, where the field is, or who the coaches are.... best mom ever, right?). However, it didn't exactly occur to us that he wouldn't know what soccer is.... or that he is completely uncoordinated. So this could utterly backfire and make him feel even worse about himself (bring on the Xanax and box of tissues, again)! If only there were a sport or team-building activity that would allow him to dig holes, play with bugs, and look at tractors, all the while playing Angry Birds. Then he'd kick some 1st grade can! But until we're able to enroll him in John Deere school, we're going to give soccer a try and hope for the best. Feel free to come out and support our team (whatever our name is)... we're apparently the ones wearing green shirts this Saturday. I'll be the mom death-gripping her travel mug, chanting "please run the right way, please run the right way" and screaming like a maniac if my kid makes contact with the ball. GO TEAM!!!