Better Days....

Since my last blog entry, I am doing much better. DD slept through the night last night so that means the cold is now on its way out. Thank Goodness for that!!!

I also needed to deal with some issues with DS. I feel so bad for my little man. He is 11 and has been through so much in the past year. He is struggling a little bit in school and I got a note from teacher on Tuesday saying she wanted to meet with me today (Thursday). Well, needless to say, things were not good in our household the past couple days. I could barely eat let alone do anything else that needed doing. We are new to the school, neighborhood, you name it. But DS is feeling it the hardest and is trying so hard to fit in. I obsessed til this morning on what the teacher could possibly have to discuss with me. I felt like I failed as a parent. His grades are not what they were last year. He is not a genius but he is a good student and a whiz in math. Well his first few tests and quizzes are in the 70s and low 80s. ACK!!! I knew something was up, but how do I resolve it? Then on Tuesday, I get the note. I guess there was my answer on how to resolve it. I get to school bright and early this morning to meet with Ms. D. She is so sweet and we are on the same page.

The good things are: he is not disruptive, he listens, he is quiet and helpful and friendly, he has made friends and everyone likes him including Ms. D and Mrs. C (his Social Studies teacher).

The bad things are: he is forgetting to do assignments, forgets to bring home books for homework, is not prepared for Social Studies and is not focused on what he needs to focus on. He tells the teacher that he did not do "insert subject, etc here" it like that in his old school.

These were not surprises to me or even DH. I knew all this going in and my DH and I talked at length to him Tuesday and again yesterday and even this morning. He gets it. He just realizes he is new and doesn't like it. He wants to be like the other kids who have been there since first grade. It just breaks my heart realizing the move really took the wind out of him.

Last night he brought home every book in his desk so he would not forget anything. He is writing neater and in cursive as is required (it was not required at our old school and that was Catholic too, go figure). He is showing all math work (and not using calculator as was done at old school). So he did hear what DH and I were saying to him. He transformed overnight practically. I hope it keeps up.

The teachers were great and I told them I would do all I can but I would let the chips fall where they may if he falls off the wagon of bringing home all assignments. I told them that he is to take responsibility for any actions. They were happy to hear that I agree with them. Well I should. They are the teachers and they were not being unreasonable. Heck, I wasn't unreasonable either.

Here is the solution: I will be signing his Homework Journal every night underneath where he writes all his assignments. As long as he writes all assignments and brings home all books, we have no problems. I will also tell him, he needs to slow down as it is not a race on who finishes what first. The teachers are also going to tell him that. He needs to take his time. They (and me) have noticed that he races through stuff and sometimes misses things. Then he gets mad if he has to go back to something. So maybe he will now slow down with both the teachers and the parents telling him it is okay to take time to do things. The teachers told me that I was doing a great job as some parents are not on the same page as the teachers. We just need to get DS to do everything. I think he will. He already started.

So the meeting wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I actually went in there thinking they were going to tell me that he is failing. That was not the case and for that I am glad. The teachers also take into consideration that he is new and even felt bad for making him finish something yesterday. They saw he was upset but he sat there and did what needed to be done. He never complained and was very respectful of the teachers. But I knew he would be.

I am feeling much better and I am not the bad parent that I thought I was for the past two days. Actually, I am doing all the right things as a parent. I just need to keep on track so I can keep my DS (and DD) on track. It will all work out and it is not as hard as I thought it would be. I have been doing it all along and need to reinforce it a little bit more than I have been.

Hopefully things will be better in our household tonight and I will be able to sit and stitch and relax with my family. I haven't been feeling much like anything all week. So tonight I plan to enjoy and we have a three day weekend coming up so that makes it even better.