it is amazing what a little conversation can do. i have enjoyed talking to my children.
 |
| water country usa, august 2010 |
mack
mack started 7th grade this year. when we went to her open house, she was a little upset to discover that none of her friends were on her team. it turned out that she actually had quite a few of her friends on her team and even had two of her closest friends, hannah and montana (no that is not a joke, but that is funny, huh? hannah and montana...hannah montana!) in her elective classes.
but during the time between getting her schedule and finding out she did have her friends with her, she expressed to me how upset she was about it all. she broke down and cried and it upset me so terribly, that i wanted to cry with her. but i didn't because i needed her to be the strong individual i know she is and realize that it was going to be okay.
jake and ryan
this is the first year i have ever heard jake say he didn't like school or his teacher. he is finally getting to a grade level where he is expected to carry more responsibilities, like remembering to bring his glasses, and not meeting your expectations results in consequences. he thinks his teacher is just being mean. hmmm! i think someone needs to ask him how he knows all about that.
ryan likes his teacher, but doesn't have much else to say other than that. he tries to avoid any talk about school if at all possible, and usually the question "how was school?" results in the oh-so-detailed answer of "FINE!". but, but, but, if you mention girls, he wants full details. go figure! he's 11!
phoenix
my little kindergartner is doing so well and i am so proud. she enjoys coming home to tell me all about her day, including the food she ate and the her playground "questions". when i ask her about her day, she tells me school is boring but not as boring as being at home with me. gee thanks, my boldly honest child! when i ask her about her new friends that she is making, she slowly has told me a new name each day. the funny part is that she doesn't call them her friends, she calls them her "people". she makes me laugh at times with her unusual choice of words. i have yet to figure out what playground "questions" are but i think she means rules.
"mommy, i remember one of my people's names!"
"mommy, my people ride the bus, when do i get to ride the bus with my people?"
she has asked me every day about riding the bus. i know she hears me tell her that i would prefer to pick her up from school, but i think her selective hearing has blocked out that part. so, is it too terrible of me that i finally just said that there is no bus for her school in our neighborhood?
she'll probably block that out too and ask again tomorrow.
my very last resort is to bribe her to stop asking with krispy kreme dounuts for breakfast. it just might work!
for the next couple of weeks the new topic of conversation i have chosen is going to be what we did this summer. as the summer is quickly coming to an end, i think now is a great time to reflect on what we have done this summer.
i would love to hear from you about some of the conversations you have with your child. please feel free to join me in getting to know your child by using my topics as suggestions to start a conversation with your child.
