Loving School

Nolan has been doing wonderfully this week. Other than an incident at 4:00am when the C-Pap machine went crashing to the floor (inspiring a brief panic over a possibly-broken machine), the week has been entirely uneventful and Nolan has been full of energy.

He adores school. Absolutely adores it. Every morning, he takes off running for the school bus with a smile on his face, and he comes home every day with stories of his adventures. Here's a sampling:

"I played in sand today. I didn't play with C---- because he wasn't there. I don't like L------ because she hits me. She goes in time out. I like Loghan because she is nice to me. We like to play."

"We paint today. We make a fire truck."

"There is a book in my backpack. Everybody make it. B---- likes pink apples. I like green apples."

I absolutely love these days. Matt is enjoying school, too. I did have a bit of a panic attack/mama bear moment when this came home in his backpack:

The bright red "Not Acceptable!" caused deep concern. There was no explanation for the bad mark, and since Matt is only five years old and can't read "long" words like acceptable, the note had to be meant for the parents. I wasn't sure if Matt's coloring in the circled objects was the issue, since the written directions simply say to circle the like objects. I felt it was a little harsh to criticize a five year old child for some extra doodling.

Then I wrote to the teacher and got the rest of the story.

Apparently, the verbal instructions were to circle the similar objects and then color the pictures with their best work. Matt decided to take the slacker route and scribbled quickly to get the assignment over with.

The teacher had discussed "not doing his best work" and they both decided the work was "not acceptable" prior to writing it on the paper. Matt has been doing his "best work" ever since, so this was a good lesson for him. I do wish I had had the explanation before the mama bear claws came out, though!

We are dealing with a bit of a conundrum with Matt. He's very "able" in the academic realm. By "able," I mean he came to me the other day and said, "Mom,  3 + 3 + 4 is TEN!" His next sentence was, "I think 9 plus 10 is nineteen - is that right?" His emotional and maturity level is at the kindergarten stage, but he needs more academic stimulation. Fortunately, his teacher is willing to provide it. He was able to do the "circle the like objects" thing at the age of two, so these worksheets are more "busy work" for him than anything else. He really needs first grade level math worksheets, so we're working on getting him more appropriate work.

Matt absolutely loves his class, and particularly loves gym. I had forgotten about games like Steal the Bacon. It is so fun to hear him talk about these things. I wish I could have foreseen this talkative, bright boy when he was so speech delayed at the age of three. It would have relieved a lot of worry!