David Weekly, V3 - 28

Well, it's been an interesting week for David. He got Green all week at school, so he should be rewarded, right? Well, instead, he actually put a knot in a kid's forehead at daycare on Wednesday! So we didn't go to the swimming lesson since I spent time talking to Ms. Nadine, and asked her to keep him occupied, engaged, structured, whatever, so he wouldn't do that to other kids. The next two days (Thursday and Friday) were better at daycare...So Wednesday I had him in time out most of the night, to let him know how serious it was that he did the hitting thing. He was very unhappy, but I think I got the message through.

Monday, however, something else happened daycare: David broke his tooth. Now, normally I don't take this very seriously when he says he "breaks his tooth/teeth" because it's usually him just jarring, and it hurts, then it's over. And it's on a regular basis. But this time, he has a tooth that's actually loose! It's the right front lower incisor, and I think I'm going to take him to the dentist tomorrow if possible, because it hasn't gotten any better. At first I thought it was a genuine loose tooth, but he's a bit young for that, and then he described how some other kid's head came into contact with his tooth to loosen it that way. The part I haven't been able to figure out is the lack of blood, or notice from the daycare. I'm still pondering whether to keep him there, just because he is such a challenge, and they don't seem equipped to deal with his need for structure, but at the same time, Ms. Nadine gives him credit for showing genuine remorse for having caused the first kid with the knot on his head any pain. And she seems willing to put up with him, which I know is a challenge. I was playing with him Friday night, and I continue to gain insight into his behavior. He would take random objects to use as "tools" to gain advantage with me, and even would use his nails...I had to remind him over and over not to do that, not to pick that up while we're playing, because that's not playing! And back to his loose tooth: I was impressed at first that it was loose, and when I told him it would come out eventually, this invited many more tears from him. Poor kid.

Thursday night was his open house. He took great pleasure in showing me around his school. Folsom is two storeys, so he went up and down every staircase, and also went up and down the elevator. We also played the drums they had, and I bought David a "sweet", as he calls it. We were given a rubric for what he's supposed to accomplish by the end of kindergarten, and from what I see he should be done w/ kindergarten by Christmas.

David tells me that he's doing capital letters, and lower case letters at school. He finished his 10 homework items out of the 15 choices, so we're good! And his first field trip will be to MOSI in the first week of October. I also got a progress report from the teacher, and it was all about his behavior needing improvement...as if we didn't know...

So that's another week. We do swimming lessons on Mondays and Wednesdays, he goes to his aunt's house on Tuesdays...the kid is busy. At swimming lessons he doesn't relax, but instead he panics, doesn't trust his own ability to swim. I hear him splutter and cry when she "forces" him to do what he seems to know how to do then doesn't do it...but this is why we have the lessons, so he'll learn.

I hope things are well with you.