Quote:I'm having a hard time getting used to the change.
Tell him so. Two Thousand and Seven: The Year of Universal Change.
A2K seems to have a problem with links that include an ampersand &. No matter how you get around it, it doesn't work. Only way around it is to not post it as a link and only as text to be copied and pasted.
That's why most of LSM's links never worked. Most of the sites she gets them from use the & in their addresses. When trying to fix them, I finally figured out why they weren't working.
Yes, somethings up - I still can't get it to work. But then again, even my password doesn't work at the site and I even reset it and it still doesn't work.
We've had a weird day today. I don't know what's going on.
We did end up taking a little nap together -- in the new room, no less -- but when I picked him up from class today he just seemed so very sad.
And he's stayed sad all day.
Again with the "I don't want to go to school anymore" but not mad this time, just sad.
<sigh>
Thanks, dlowan, for PMing me the article and thanks, soz, for posting it.
I can identify with what she says and she says it so well that it was a true pleasure to read.
I was emptying Mo's backpack and found that he is now signing his schoolwork "Simba". Maybe that got a bad reaction and that caused today's sadness.
Mo just can't wait to be King.
Simba laughed in the face of danger. There's lots of places to go with that regarding the room change, going to school, ...
I'd go with it and certainly let the teacher know it's a phase and that you'd prefer she not make a big deal about it.
Boomer--
Don't forget to compliment Mo for behaving acceptably even though he feels sad.
I'm a big believer in positive reinforcement--particularly when kids are in transitions patches.
The school year is almost half over.
I can't remember how old Mo is. If he's in school though, he must be at least six. Do you have time to manage some play dates for him after school? Does he have any outside activity like soccer or library story-times? Those things are important, if time-consuming, partly because he'll begin to rely on people other than your & Mr. B. That letting go is scary on both sides but will help him discover himself, imo.
My son wanted us all to call him "Joe" for a few months during those early years and signed some of his papers that way. I can't remember when he switched back to his real name. I suppose it is written down somewhere, though... he was the second child and got short shrift.
That was a really good article... especially to get that perspective. I loved it when he was disgusted with adults for asking him what he'll be and that they didn't know what Penguin meant. Kids are so great.
Mo turned six a couple of weeks ago. Right now he takes a music class that will segue into guitar lessons in a couple of weeks. He really, really likes the music class.
I don't really do "play dates" as he has a neighborhood gang that he plays with most days.
The more you can get his focus outside himself & you, the easier his maturing process because he'll be expanding his world. As someone recently said to me, "Feelings heal feelings." The music and guitar lessons sound wonderful and can lead to some great outings to seek out & hear live music. Portland is so great for that.
Positive reinforcement, as Noddy says is always a good thing. Just talking about the day and chewing over bits of it leads to moments where you can verbally mention some great thing he's done.
What books are his favorites? I read a children's book at Christmas by MFK Fisher, re-published in '91 -- Boss Dog. There are two little girls in it, 8 and 10. My kids were always fascinated with kids who were a little older than they were. The story could lead to some interesting discussions, I'd think... what's it like to travel far away... can you really become friends with a waiter... how much fun it is to speculate about others, including animals.
He is likely sad because things are not going well at school... socially. Possibly kids are being mean to him -- it happens a lot, or else he wants to be friends with someone who is shutting him out. Can you take him to school or pick him up early & check it out? Especially, try to watch at recess -- just go there & peek out the window. I'd also do an immediate F2F with his teacher... v. simple & quick & not making a big deal out of it. That'll also show the other kids (who'll surely be watching) that he's got a strong family, he is well-loved, etc.
Are you willing to call him Simba? We used a lot of nicknames at our house. My daughter recently said to me as she was leaving to go back to college, "You called me goomba sometimes and I never knew what it meant... but I liked it."
I'm at school one full day a week as classroom assistant, I volunteer for all the parties and special events, I'm the kindergarden yearbook photographer. I know his regular teacher and his reading teacher very well.
Not only do they not report that he is having problems he is really doing much better this term. In fact, they may release him from the special reading class because he is leaping ahead of the other students.
Mo really likes this class and when I mentioned that he might not have to take it anymore he was upset.
He did mention that he would like to ride the school bus home. Because he takes the reading class, he can't take the school bus since the class meets after regular class.
Maybe if he doesn't have to take the class he can start riding the school bus. That might put a positive spin on it.
He likes science books more than story books. How buildings are built, how volcanos work -- that sort of thing.
There aren't a lot of music outings for his age. There's "Baby Loves Disco" but that's not live music..... hmmm..... I'll have to look around a bit....
The school I started kindergarten at was condemned and closed at Christmas.
I finished kindergarten and started Grade 1 at another school.
The hamburgers bought a house and moved into it at Christmas of Grade 1. I refused to move into the house with them.
I lived with hamburger's brother and sister-in-law for a few weeks (months?) while I started going to Grade 1 in my next new school. Visited the hamburgers at their house.
I started using the h in ehBeth as my name at the 3rd school. Didn't tell the hamburgers. The teacher had to let them know.
Kids cope with changes in all kinds of fascinating ways.
Mo's had more changes than most - and his own fascinating ways.
~~~~~
Partway through Grade 2, the school in our subdivision was ready and I switched schools again at Christmas. By the next year, when another school opened nearby I volunteered myself to switch to that school (without notifying the hamburgers). I'd started to REALLY like change.
Beth, I had a similar schooling, not because I asked for it, but because my father was an air force captain and we moved a lot. One or two schools for each grade, until 6th grade, when he retired. Can be hard on a kid, but they say it teaches resilience. Liking change though, that's a good one... heh... and not telling your parents about school choices! You were a very independent girl.
Boomerang, that seems like a lot of time to be at the school - I've never heard of a class photographer. When you're there and look outside at recess, does Mo looks happy & occupied? Does he drift... does he talk to the "duty" a lot?
Riding the school bus is a very social activity -- I'm amazed that he'd want to ride it. My kids hated it, but that's because there is a lot of rough & tumble, mentally & physically, that goes on.
I dunno, I'm just trying to be helpful. I just remember that my son was heavily influenced by what the other kids said to him at school. If they said, why don't you ride the school bus, then he'd think he ought to ride the school bus. If they said, why do you wear sweat pants, he'd be sure and never wear them again. It is really hard to counter what the other kids say.
Maybe Mo's torn because he knows it is either the reading class or the school bus and he likes them both. Have you asked him how school is going and why he seemed sad? Keeping that dialog up is good. It becomes a habit and he'll tell you more as he gets older because he's used to it.
The good thing about storybooks, as opposed to science books, is that they give you the opportunity to talk about feelings and compare how other people live.... you can generate a dialog. I know I keep harping on that and you asking him but the answers are inside him, if you can just get to them.
Perhaps Mo's about ready for an introduction to
Charles Wallace Murry?
I know it's considered young adult fiction, but it might be a good reading-by-Ma and Pa Boomer-book. Lots of science, fantasy - and Charles Wallace is quite a marvellous young guy in the books.
Oh gosh! It just hit me....
..... maybe......
One of the things in Mo's backpack yesterday was a deal about "The Great Body Shop" bulletin -- they had been discussing "family" and how families are different.
One of the books for the program is "Tell me again about the night I was born" which is about adoption so maybe they were talking about adoption.
Now Mo knows that he's adopted. We discuss it, it's no secret. He's fine about it. BUT when his friends find out they always ask him a million questions and some of the questions are hard for him to answer.
I've seen this happen and have been there to help him through it BUT maybe something was said....
There's no school today but I think I'll make it a point to stop in early on Monday and ask his teacher about the lesson and if something could have happened to make Mo feel so sad.
It is a cold but sunny day today so we're heading out to the zoo for a romp and some lunch. Maybe I can coax something out of him there.
boomerang wrote:Oh gosh! It just hit me....
..... maybe......
One of the things in Mo's backpack yesterday was a deal about "The Great Body Shop" bulletin -- they had been discussing "family" and how families are different.
One of the books for the program is "Tell me again about the night I was born" which is about adoption so maybe they were talking about adoption.
Now Mo knows that he's adopted. We discuss it, it's no secret. He's fine about it. BUT when his friends find out they always ask him a million questions and some of the questions are hard for him to answer.
I've seen this happen and have been there to help him through it BUT maybe something was said....
There's no school today but I think I'll make it a point to stop in early on Monday and ask his teacher about the lesson and if something could have happened to make Mo feel so sad.
It is a cold but sunny day today so we're heading out to the zoo for a romp and some lunch. Maybe I can coax something out of him there.
Interesting.....I always know there is gonna be a trigger (whether this is it or not)...but often the kids don't really know themselves.
Beth...I LOVE that series!
I only recently discovered there were sequels to "A Wrinkle in Time", and I bought them a while ago.
Read "The Wind in the Door" just recently!
A wrinkle in time. Mrs Who and Mrs Whatsit.
