We had Elijah's Kindergarten Parent-Teacher Conference on Monday. Mrs. Parker is the same teacher that Miciah had, so we're familiar with her style, and she's familiar with ours. It was interesting to talk about how our children are different academically (she, of course, strongly advised us not to compare them). Elijah does well in school and is hitting all the points he needs to hit--not ahead, but not behind. Right where he needs to be. He is serious about his work and very proud of himself when he does well. It's interesting to watch this spastic little boy get super focused when he talks about school and about behaving for his teacher. It's also interesting to note that Rob hadn't seen the intensity that Elijah has for school. I guess by the time Rob gets home and asks Elijah about school, all Elijah has left to say is, "We played on the playground."
This is Elijah's school picture:
He insisted on having his hair "spiky," even though I NEVER do his hair for school. Ever.
The one mark that Elijah didn't meet for school was "talking at appropriate times." Apparently he talks to his friends too much. But, said Mrs. Parker, "We moved him and now he doesn't sit next to Richie, and he's much better." And he still hasn't talked too much to get his card flipped (the school's behavior control system), and he's determined not to ever get his card flipped.
Homework is getting easier for him. He wants to do it RIGHT NOW when he gets home with it. He finds some things very easy and delights in saying so. Other things aren't as easy for him, but he still works hard on them, and it's getting easier for us, as parents, to be patient with him. All in all, we'll take it.
Bullying Behavior
Over the summer, while we were away, Elijah developed his bullying side. I still think that's odd, cause he's just not a bully. When we got home from the trip and I repositioned myself as a parental authority, I told him that the bullying and hitting needed to stop. NOW. He would be going to school soon and it was simply not okay for a Kindergartener to be hitting people. He thought about it. We initiated a series of punishments for hitting, and within a week, the behavior nearly vanished.
I've been paying attention these days because Teancom has figured out how advantageous it is to be the little guy. He hits his siblings. He jumps on them. He annoys Elijah to no end and chases him around the house while Elijah pleads for help. But I have been very impressed with Elijah. I have heard (and sometimes seen) Teancom get mad and hit him (Teancom even BITES sometimes, the little punk). Elijah will even say, "Ow!", sometimes cry, and sound pretty angry about the whole thing. But he has never hit him back.
Elijah is a gentle soul. Like his father. I, for sure, would have hit Teancom back. Or found an even better way to get even. Elijah just doesn't think like that.
On top of that, his crazy emotional outbursts are now non-existent. Hurray for growing up! School has been a great thing for Elijah.
Pre-Reading
Another reason school has been great for Elijah: He is interested in reading! I think the boy just needed someone other than his mom and dad to teach him. When we read books, if I skip a word that he knows (they're learning 1 sight word a week), he gets upset at me. This is a big step for him. They also send home simple sentences for him to read, and he sounds them out and does great with them. He doesn't seem to remember words as quickly as Miciah did (since we're not comparing the two), but Mrs. Parker assures us this is all normal development stuff. I'm proud of how Elijah is doing, and I love watching how proud he obviously is of himself. I LOVE that he loves doing well.
School Halloween Party
I've never shown up to a school holiday party, but Miciah specifically asked me to show up this year. So I went to the Halloween party this year, and it was fun to watch the kids having so much fun. The parade beforehand is always fun (and I've gone to that every year), because you get to see all the costumes. I missed Miciah during the parade, but this is Elijah:
And that's pretty much Elijah's news. He is making friends at school and in the neighborhood. He desperately wants to be helpful and big, but he's also patient in the getting there. He's happy and hopeful and a delightful child.
A Fall Tree:
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