As I mentioned, Katy's having a hard time at school lately, which has taken a great deal of attention - we're talking and reading a lot about it at night. Mornings are often emotionally challenging. And I'm trying to talk to family and friends about it during the day for support.
Remember how I asked awhile back about David's tendency to be rough and physical, and how it was causing some challenges at preschool? We had his conference today with his teachers, and as I feared, they said that it has gotten worse lately (I've seen it at home, too). They said they think it goes beyond "being a boy" and "needs to be addressed." When I asked for suggestions on how to address it, they said by giving him appropriate outlets for all of his physical energy. They encouraged an organized sport of some kind and were glad to hear that he just started Tae Kwon Do. (By the way, getting there twice a week after school is also making things busy, and I had told Brian that we might just do a month or two and then take a break. But now that his teachers think it's neccessary?) Hopefully when the weather warms up that will be easy to do, but I'm at a loss as to what else to do? They said that lately he isn't able to sit in circle and listen to the teacher and follow directions, even after being redirected. Then she said, "Which is what they expect in kindergarten..." Of course it is...so now I'm worried he won't be ready for that? The good news is that academically he's right where he should be, so that's a relief.
Luke is mostly potty trained at home, but still refuses to use the potty outside of home, which makes going anywhere a bit of a challenge. And he still has occasional accidents at home, too. He's a demanding 2 year old who very sweetly asks me about 30 times a day, "You want to play with ME?" and shoves a car in my hand. *sigh* That boy is sweet as pie but I feel like I don't have the time to give him the attention he needs right now. His language is through the ROOF. I can't believe how well he is talking, logical explanations for things, etc.
Anna is so sweet and cute (so sorry for the lack of photos this time, more soon). She gives little half smiles and grunts more than she cries. We're still trying to figure out the best strategy for nighttime sleep, as I'm still getting about 5-6 hours per night, not consecutive. She likes the sling, which is nice, and we've gotten out for a few walks on warmer days. The poor girl spends too much time in her car seat on the days that David has school.
Other stuff is starting to get busy, too...we've got to plan the rest of the year for Girl Scouts, I just found out that my Box Tops deadline is March 1st instead of April 1st, and this scholarship committee that I offered to head up needs to be organized in the next couple of weeks. (I did not know the timeline on these things when I volunteered). All of this stuff would feel a lot more feasible if I had some more sleep.
But at the end of the day, we have four great kids. We'll figure all of this out. And get more sleep. Yesterday I got some exciting news that I'm hoping will be official soon so that I can share it here. Coming soon!!
3 comments:
Boys are supposed to sit in a circle and listen? Are they nuts? Sorry, only joking (kind of). It's great to catch up on your family. I'd love to see you soon when things have settled down a bit more.
Like Pam just said...it's pretty much a "boy" thing to not sit still. Which makes it so tough. One of the best things that happened for us was having a male principal for Kindergarten. At the parents (of boys) meeting he confirmed that school was not made for boys. They understand that, and they work with them. It was a great Kindergarten experience. Then in 1st they move to a new school, and that principal retired anyway. This year we've had a few times with Z getting in trouble for things that I think "he's a boy". Sad that too many teachers don't get that. Honestly, I didn't get it until I had a boy of my own.
Sadly, I don't think there are any easy answers. But take it easy on him, and definitely have as many physical outlets as possible (it does help).
Anna is so cute! Can't believe she's 5 weeks already!
Love the pics--Anna looks so alert and just ready for anything :)
As for David-you can probably predict everything I am about to say. I think this is a really tough age to sort out the question of activity level/attention span being developmentally and age appropriate. My first thought with attention troubles or extra physical roughness is that he might just need some more "input". At home you could try giving him extra hugs and squeezes, building extra physical contact into the day. Not quite deep tissue massage but just squeezing his arms/legs and extra hugs. Or maybe try using playdoh, rice or some other textured item and give him some play time with that. It doesn't have to be roughhousing but maybe he is just the type of kid who needs some sensory input (without it rising to the level of "problem"). I do that alot with my oldest and it seems to dial him down when he just can't seem to get it together.
I also wonder what the school is willing to implement in the classroom to help support him? Do they have any strategies? He can't be the first kid to come along who has trouble sitting during circle time. I hope they can be helpful! By now you know me well enough to know that I'm going to say that there is always E.I. if you feel like you want another opinion. It would give you a more specific read on where he is and even though his academics are on track, maybe an OT eval would be useful? It's so hard to do this with out own kids--but at the very least, you will get objective feedback and can move forward from there. Better to have that baseline now since kindergarten is getting close.
Sorry- I just wrote a short novel- this probably seems overwhelming but I think it will all turn out just fine. He is obviously learning/absorbing new things and that's AWESOME!
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