Happy Medium

I'm glad to say that school is going well. I'm not in the classroom observing H every day, or any day yet, but I look forward to the day when I can. I am excited to see him in action. Until then, I'm glad to be able to say that he is learning and growing. Watching him do his homework and seeing the way his mind thinks, it's interesting. Husband does drop-offs most days, but the days that I do give interesting insights as well. I enjoy seeing him with friends and interacting with the other kids. I love to watch him find his name tag, show me with a huge smile, put his backpack down, and run to the playground. I love that he is still excited to go when we get there, even if he isn't overly excited when I tell him he can't play because we have to get ready. He may not be excited about homework, but we're working on it and the newness of this concept. Maybe one day...maybe.

Now comes the fun of the happy medium. When do we push for more, how do we show him that even though he didn't get 100% his best is good enough. In his room they have a behavior chart based on color. Green is a good day. I'm happy and satisfied with green. We aim for purple (a great day) but are glad for green. H doesn't see it this way. He aims for purple and is upset with green. Monday was a yellow day (warning). He was sad he got a warning. That day we talked about aiming for purple. We have a book that they sent home about Bono el Mono (Bono the monkey). He goes to school and learns the rules and each of the pages is a rule he learns. We read this book almost daily (mostly to be reading Spanish and working on Spanish vocabulary), and we talk about what he did to get a big star at the end of the book. Unfortunately, H is disappointed that he isn't getting purple. He's disappointed and he wants to quit trying. Now begins the fun of encouraging and urging him to do his best, while still helping him to see that he can't give up when he doesn't get or do what he thinks he should. Now begins the fun of helping him to learn how to do more than we think we can. Now comes the fun of comforting my sad and disappointed 5-yr-old while helping him to see that I'm not disappointed in him (I'm over the moon if he had a green day...it means he did what he was supposed to).

Life's new challenges: homework, encouragement, comfort. I suppose they aren't "new," but we are certainly looking at them from a different perspective. I pray I can help him in a manner that grows both of us to be better, me a better mother and he a better student/person.