David Weekly, V3 - 30

Forgot last week to say that you read one of your dinosaur board books to your kindergarten class, which of course impressed me. You took the book out of my hand when I was going to read it to you, and you read it instead. So I asked you if you wanted to read it to your class, or Ms. Perez, and you said you would. One of the books we got you for your reward the other day has some pretty detailed information about dinosaurs, and I think it's a great book because it says new things about dinosaurs that I never knew before, and gives a better idea of the time period. I'm trying to get you to learn the time period: Mesozoic Era is the big time frame, and is divided up into 3 parts. Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods. And you are doing well to learn that. So what is the Mesozoic? "The time of the dinosaurs." You're learning. :-)

You have homework each month: 10 out of 15 assignments that have to be done by the end of the month, so you do about 2 - 3 per week. Usually on the weekends, and it takes about 10 minutes per item. But I like that the latest list has "read for 15 minutes with your family each night." :-) We do that now already, so we got that covered!

Saturday we went canoeing with Cinnamon. For a long while you kept saying how scared you were, and how you wanted to turn back, but I just wouldn't let you. I kept telling you that you'd have to wait, or kept trying to distract you by asking about different dinosaurs, or having you look for turtles. You kept saying you were afraid of alligators, but there are none in that area, and besides, we were in a boat that they would have stayed away from, so we were safe. Eventually, after we got back to her parents' house, you said, "I liked canoeing!"

Monday, you told me all about HOST, even to the point of saying, "I like HOST." (For my readers: HOST is the new after school care that I have David enrolled in) What you told me is that you did "homework", and had a snack, and that you had fun. What I liked most was that when I got there, you were playing "Memory". I talked to one of the adults there and made sure that they knew you needed to have structure, and it sounds like they are doing what you need: giving you that structure, making sure there are things to do, teaching you how to play nice. You said that you were called a sore loser, and we talked about how not to be a sore loser, since learning how to win and lose gracefully will help you in the long run. I'm glad you had a good first day, and I look forward to many more good days. I do shudder to think about what a bad day will look like. I know it will happen; I just don't know when. And I hope that I'm wrong.

Another thing I think you'll like is that my friend James called me to ask about your issue with getting picked on at Learning Space, and how to handle it. The answer is that I just don't know. I did move you to a new place that might help. I think that the kids pick on you partly because you're so smart. I guess that means maybe I should try to get you around other kids who value learning, and achieving...I don't think you're socially mal-adjusted, or somehow different from the other kids. You are super competetive (as I just talked about), which can get in your way. I also think that getting appropriate supervision is good for you, and I think you need it more than most. I also worry about how you might have to deal with it later in your life (like when you're a teen-ager, or even a pre-teen), but then again, I hope that you'll have matured in such a way that it won't be a problem for you. I always thought you'd get picked on about your hand, but it seems to me that it's something else, like the fact that you're probably a lot smarter than the other kids. I do have a concern that in many ways you'll have mastered the rubric for kindergarten by the time Christmas rolls around. Then I don't know what you'll do. You can count to 100 already (I heard you in the car the other day; you were trying to figure out how long it took for us to get somewhere), and you know your letters and numbers, and can read...but you still have a long way to go. I would like to see you knowing all the sounds of the letters, and able to apply that to new words. I know you'll get there...

You got a progress report a couple of weeks ago that I keep forgetting to mention, you got it about 1 month after starting, and naturally it says you Need Improvement on Following Directions, Respecting Others, and Practicing Self Control. There is no academic progress, because it would seem that part of kindergarten is to teach behavior, and not just academics...But another couple of weeks has gone by, and you're already doing much much better. You've had two straight weeks of Green, and Ms. Perez told me in your agenda that you going to HOST should help as well.

By Wednesday, though, I understand you're writing "Think Sheets" on which you write what you did wrong, and then write what you should have done. This is definitely better than Time Out. The problem is that you are getting called names, but I don't know why, and I don't know how to get you not to respond to that, or how to teach you to deal with it. I hate that it's causing you problems...

Thursday, to my very great surprise and alarm, you got a Discipline Letter. Basically, it was to warn me that you might get suspended from HOST for a day because of your behavior. This did not sit well with me. I was very upset with you! I told you that you have to figure it out! Talk to the teacher, whatever you have to do. Jesse was over on Thursday night as well, and she talked to you about keeping your hands to yourself. I did some major talking to people. I sent an email to the school principal, and Mrs. Shaffer, and Ms. Perez about the situation with HOST, because I don't want you suspended, and I want you very well supervised, as I was promised by Ms. Tara, the head of HOST. I got a response on Friday, and we'll just have to wait and see. You had a good day on Friday, you said. And no Discipline Letter. I'm going to make sure to talk with her on Monday. I need from her the effort she promised me.

Meanwhile, you lost your tooth! You have a big ol' gap on the lower part of your gums, but at least it feels better for you. You put it under your pillow, and the Tooth Fairy gave you $5! You said that you can't spend that money, that you have to save it, because Avery told you so. I figure you must have had that conversation on Tuesday when you were with her and Jared. Separately, you told me what an onomatopoeia is: word that makes sounds.

Lastly, you went to the Museum of Science and Industry, and the important part of that trip to you was that you rode on the bus, and ate pizza for lunch, instead of what I sent with you. I guess I need to really ask you want you saw there, or what you did. Ask you why you went...

So I'm typing this, late at night...and now I'm signing off. I love you, kid...

Your Dad...