Today Emma Mae and I went up to the school for my monthly planning meeting. We put Jake on the bus to Kinder and I couldn't wait to hear about all the fun I was sure he had at school later. Today was rainbow day and that boy loves him some rainbows.
Mike picked him up from school today and when they walked through the door Mike said "tell mama what color your clip was on today." I was waiting for him to shout out that he had achieved the much sought after red star leader. Instead I got a downcast look and some mumbling about the color purple. You may remember he slipped to blue a few days ago for noise making. Well. The day after that happened his clip stayed on green meaning "ready to learn". The next day his clip moved up for the first time to yellow which means "Way to go!" We were so proud of him. I asked him what he had done to move up in the world but he didn't seem to know.
I knew when I heard purple that it was bad news. Purple is one step down from blue and only one step away from the dreaded phone call home to your mama. Further questioning ensued. At first he told me that he was trying to be funny just like I've told him NOT to do in class and then he got in trouble. So I asked him specifically what he had done. Then he told me that he was running around the room flapping his arms trying to fly. Like a superhero. Only I don't think superheroes flap. Birds flap. Superheroes just take off. Anyhow. He was definitely doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing. And then he did it or something similar to it again. Because his clip got moved down to blue before it got moved down to purple. His consequence was not being able to watch a movie with the class at the end of the day. He had to sit out in the hallway all alone. I think he felt pretty bad about it. I hope he can express his remorse to Mrs. Ware on Monday when I make him go apologize and beg for forgiveness.
Oh, the boy. It is so hard for those boys to sit still. Anywhere. I know learning self control is important for them, but I truly think it is harder for them than it is for little girls. They are the embodiment of the word "movement." My child is the kid on the street who is constantly running around and before you know it he has climbed to the top of the nearest STOP sign. Just because he can. I loved reading the book "Wild Things" that so perfectly explained and captured the heart of the boy. One of my favorite things the authors say is that "whenever boys are in the equation, you may have to broaden your definition of normal." So true. I think every parent/teacher of a boy should read it. I just imagine that every day when Jake wakes up he is thinking the famous line from "Where the wild things are." Hey world! "Let the wild rumpus start!" Anyone for flying around the classroom?
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