The other day Kendall was doing homework, and I was like, “Holy crap. You’re, like, learning stuff. “
I mean, y’all, he was adding and subtracting in his head, which is fascinating because just yesterday I was correcting him when he made the wrong sound when asked “What does the pig say?” while changing his diaper.
It’s also WONDERFUL because this is stuff that other people are teaching him. Not me. I’m not the one doing the teaching.
I had a conference with his teacher last week, and we discussed all the usual things.
We wrapped up by touching on his behavior. She reports he’s a happy, kind kid with a lot of energy, but he mostly stays on track… with some gentle reminders here and there.
It’s a HUGE improvement over where he was a year ago, as evidenced by all the green (good behavior) days in his calendar.
Last year, it was typical for him to get about 2 yellow days a week. It became the norm, and we discussed it with him and always tried to work on it, but he was getting marks for things like talking in line and at lunch, and I just wasn’t going to make a huge deal over things that, to me, were the result of an energetic little boy adjusting to the rigor of a 7 hour school day.
This year, for the entire first nine weeks, he hasn’t had a single yellow day. Not one!
BUT there was this one day when he thought he did….
“He came home, SO disappointed in himself and mad. He cried…” I explained to his teacher.
“Oh my goodness. I’m so sorry to hear that!” she said sympathetically.
“Oh! No, don’t be!” I replied with glee then continued, “It was AMAZING. He actually felt regret for his actions! I love that he cried. It means he’s probably not a psychopath, right?”
As it turns out, he didn’t even get a yellow that day. He was just super close, and it was a miscommunication.
Earlier in the school year, I told him I’d give him $50 toward the new Sklyanders Trap Team game if he got all green days for the whole 9 weeks, thinking he OBVIOUSLY WOULD NOT DO THAT.
So, it’s possible he was more upset that he wouldn’t get the money for the game than that his behavior faltered, but whatever. Whatever!
He has a soul! He has regrets and actually gives fucks sometimes! Big moment around here, y’all. Huge.
The fact that he cried over the one (almost) yellow day means so much more to me than the 9 weeks of green days. Hooray emotions!
- 8Shares
11 comments
Oh my gosh we struggle with this DAILY at our house. Anika is constantly getting in trouble at school for hitting/kicking/screaming/tantruming. She’s 6 and she tried to make a little girl with a peanut allergy(which she’s aware of) eat peanut butter. I am so glad we are not the only ones who have thought this about our kids. We’re actually going to see a therapist for her this week.
My first grader gets in trouble constantly for talking at lunch, talking when he isnt supposed to, playing when he should be learning. It’s such a long day for them to not be able to talk/move when they feel they need to… We remind him daily, are trying rewards… But its hard! For him and us!!!!
My “little” boy is almost 14 but I remember where you are at very well. My son was also an energetic boy that was a bit rambunctious to the point that I didn’t think he was going to be able to go to Kindergarten because he just wasn’t ready for an 8 hour classroom. I remember the day that he rounded the corner! Exciting times indeed!! Yeah for you both!!!
Hahahahahaha “actually gives fucks sometimes” cracked me up more than it probably should have lol Glad to hear he’s doing so well! ????
that made me laugh too.
Yay for Kendall’s all greens. My son’s school uses that same system; so far no yellow cards (and no red cards-I think red card is pretty serious).
I love your honesty and I always have. So I won’t be ashamed to admit as a kindergarten teacher, I too love when they cry!!! It always tells me they care and they do want to do better but not just because I want them too!!!! And rewarding behavior and encouraging good behavior shows his teacher more than anything that you work as a team. Which is so important and I promise appreciated.
So happy for you and for Kendall! Love reading about your kids.
Woo hoo! It’s always nice to see this stuff in action, confirming all is well. 🙂
That’s awesome! He is so grown up already, little man 🙂
We homeschool, so the responsibility for behavior is totally on me, my almost 6 year old has been giving me a lot of attitude lately – but I’m so glad we can talk through it together and I love seeing her grow in controlling her emotions. I think every parent just loves witnessing growth in their children as they mature!
I can totally see how my daughter would always be in trouble in school, she is non-conformist and loves to socialize – all these “no talking” and “line-up” rules would surely stifle her exuberant personality. She asks so many crazy questions all day long, no teacher would be able to handle that with a class full of kids! 😉 I love that our kids get to play and socialize with many children of different ages and many adults too.
I love reading your posts, you’re a great mom!
[…] I promise you, I did not force them to take pictures the whole time we were there. They were just… tired. All three fell asleep on the way there. Kendall was ESPECIALLY awful because of course because that’s what happens when I post about his amazing behavior improvements that very day. […]
They have like 6 or 7 colors here I can’t keep them straight. Plus they get in the same amount of trouble for fighting as for not writing their name in pencil… huh? Yeah.. so.. we told our kid not to worry about the color and focus on her behavior..