Just Like Mommy

We have now been in school about two months and the teacher came up to the van last week as I was picking up Riley and asked if she could meet with me to discuss a behavior plan for Riley. I told her we could meet on Monday.

At the meeting the teacher said that Riley is a really nice boy, but he had some trouble focusing on what he was suppose to do. She wanted to set up a plan where Riley would be rewarded for completing his afternoon work. He had trouble completing his first assignment of the day; he liked to talk instead of completing his work.

I agreed to the behavior plan and gave the teacher some suggestions that the OT had given to us with regards to Riley's writing and coloring like having him use a short pencil and half crayons to strengthen his fingers. I also asked that if Riley is switching hands for her to encourage him to use his left hand because he has been left hand dominant since he was 14 months old.

As I was in this meeting, I thought he is just like I was when I was young. I liked to talk and socialize rather than complete my work in school also. In many ways Riley is just like me. He is his mother's son.

Well, he was able to stick to the behavior plan for one day. The other two days this week, he did not complete his first assignment. We'll see what he does tomorrow after all the sugar tonight from trick or treat!

I Kissed A Girl...

I kissed a girl and I kind of liked it.
I hope my boyfriend don't mind it.

These are the lyrics from a Katy Perry song. My son heard this song on the radio and started singing the song. I heard him and told him that it was an adult song and he should not sing it. He kept asking me, "Why Mommy?" "Why, Why, Why?" I could not come up with a better reason than it was not a kid's song. When I got home, I asked my husband to explain to Riley why this was not a good song for him to sing, and my husband could not come up with a better reason than I had. The evening went on and something happened and a light bulb clicked in my head, I had the perfect reason why Riley should not sing this song. I told him it was a girl's song. That did stop him from singing it for awhile, but sometimes he tells me it is stuck in his head.

During the few days that we were out of school because of the wind storm caused by Hurricane Ike, I was watching my best friend's daughter who is eight. The three of us were in the car together when I Kissed A Girl came on. The girl asked me to turn it up and started to sing along. Riley told her that she should not sing that song because it was an adult song. She told Riley that it was not an adult song, it was a teen or preteen song and she liked it. So, they went back and forth for awhile with me thinking, does it really matter what my five year old, boy or girl, sings? And, eight is not considered preteen in my book!

Pledge of Allegiance

As we were walking out of school today, Riley noticed that the safety patrols were taking the flag down and folding it in front of the school. He asked me why and I told him that the flag could only stay on the flag pole at night when it is lit. He told me that he had a flag in his classroom, and it was on a stick. I asked him if he said the Pledge of Allegiance in his classroom. He said, Yes. I asked him if he could recite the Pledge of Allegiance, and he recited it for me perfectly except for the word liberty, which I corrected, and he now says properly. I asked Riley who taught him the pledge and he said his teacher. I asked him if his teacher last year did the pledge with him, and he said no. I am so proud that he learned something in the first weeks of school, and this shows that his verbal and auditory skills are his strengths.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten seems to be going well. Riley is excited to go everyday when it comes time to go to school. He likes to see his friends and seems to have a way with the girls although he would prefer to play with boys his age. At night when we talk about school, he tells me he does not like school and that school is boring. In his language, school is boring means that it is hard for him. I think that sometimes when he is asked to do things that are hard for him like writing or possibly even sitting still in his seat, he tends to give up without even trying. Some of his problem is that he is very insecure, somewhat emotional, and a worrier. He worries about everything, but especially if people like him and want to be his friend. I keep trying to reassure him that if a friend does not play with him, it is not because they do not like him anymore, but they may want to play with someone else that day. I try to explain the dynamics of friendship, and that it is a give and take process where sometimes you have to play what your friends want to play. I hope that he eventually trusts the friendships that he makes and know that they will not disappear overnight.