5/3/2011 The problem child

And here I thought Gabriel was our "difficult" one. Oops there I go again, pigeonholing and assigning roles.

Julian has been SUCH a pain lately! He's not finishing his schoolwork in class, he's being a pest at the CDC, and is really obnoxious when we try to talk to him, rolling his eyes and making loud groaning sounds.

I had to have a long heartfelt talk with him (squelching my irritation and dismay) about not teasing a CDC-mate who only has 4 fingers on one hand. I mean, how awful! I told him how sad it would make me if someone teased him for that. I also tossed in the hard-line approach that it's also "not allowed," but mostly focused on appealing to his humanity, and told him that he's a nice kid so he shouldn't say mean things. He made a lot of excuses, like that the other kid pushes him sometimes.

Julian's latest way of getting out of things is to scream "I'm **HUNGRY**!!" -- but only when asked to do something he doesn't want to do, and sometimes after he's had seconds or thirds at dinner. Sometimes he's so adament in this excuse that we have to send him outside. Sorry, Dave and I just need to talk when he gets home sometimes -- especially when I have a trip back East imminent because of my Dad's passing -- We get to talk!

I recently asked Julian's teacher about 2nd grade. She suggests that we fill in a request form with the principal for a teacher. We're not allowed to request a particular teacher; only characteristics. Here's what Julian's teacher said.

Yes, you can make a request of the type of teacher that would best fit Julian. I am going to recommend that his room and Gabriel's room be as far apart as possible next year. Being so close together this year made things difficult.

If I could pick the perfect teacher for Julian, the characteristics of this teacher would be: FIRM, structured, give positive praise when needed, appreciate music/arts, energetic, knows about nature and science.

Seems every year toward the end of the school year, I shift into "hang-in-there" mode, in which I cross my fingers and hope that we make it to the end of the school year without any major disasters. This year, that anxiety is directed at Julian!

What is it with my bright little boys, bursting with health and vigor, brimming with promise and potential -- why are they so DARNED DIFFICULT?!

5/3/2011