Laughing Stock??

Third graders are an interesting breed. Sometimes so confident and sure of themselves; other times insecure and needy. And how quickly they can go from clingy and sad to being ready to take on the world, bouncing from place to place.

This week had its high points and its bumps for our 3rd grader. Getting his name in the smiley face with a check mark beside it meant lots of smiles at the end of the day; it's the teacher's way of recognizing children who make good choices and show RAKs (Random Acts of Kindness) to their classmates.

But then there was the night he cried himself to sleep because a girl at lunch told him he was "being gross" because he dipped his grapes into his yogurt. He reported that she told "everyone" and now he felt like a "laughing-stock." First of all, when I was in 3rd grade, I don't think I even knew the expression laughing stock.

So we did what parents everywhere do; lots of hugs, reassurance that he's a good kid, and talked about what he could do to make the situation better. Things like sit somewhere further away from the girl, make sure he's using good table manners (and there's nothing wrong with putting his grapes in his yogurt as long as he's not making a mess), and ignoring rude comments from someone else. We talked about how 3rd grade girls don't like 3rd grade boys very much and often think all boys are gross (though I don't know if that's true any more). And we talked about how maybe the girl doesn't know how to be a friend and that he could be a good example and be nice to her and show her how to be a friend.

I don't know if any of it sank in, but the next day the lunch report was better. He sat with a new friend in his class and the girl was a couple of tables down from him. He said someone else dipped their lollipop into their yogurt and she said that child was gross. I asked him how that made him feel, and he said that he didn't think it was gross and why couldn't he have a lollipop in his lunch box.

So all is well.

A 3rd Grader's View of Himself

From a school assignment, all spelling is his.

Ten Words That Best Describe Me:
eat, sleep, play, tv, video games, sarperner, new things, learn, do thing I'm sopes to do.

Five Things I'm Most Proud Of:
fast runer, good learner, good listener, good reader, mather

My Favorite Foods:
brer ice cream, pizza, shred chese, smothe

My Favorite Things To Do:
School, play on playground, read, takodo

Something Everyone Should Know About Me:
more than a hundered dollars, read a lot, play vidoe games

Three Things I Hope to Learn This Year:
Amrican revolusion, how a tornato froms, the amrican flag

Myself As A Learner:
I always watch tv. I'm curios about how things work. I understand tv. I explore by talking. I enjoy with others. I am someone who is pround of my work. I like to read about avnchers. I like to write about myslef. I like to watch Nickolden. I like to learn about the past.

Baby germs!

Did you know that if you touch or hold a baby, you have baby germs for up to 2 hours? And those baby germs can be spread through touching? And that 8 year old boys are allergic to baby germs? And that 3rd graders know how to tell time and won't let you touch them for a whole two hours after holding a baby, just so you won't give them baby germs?

And babies aren't just newborns and infants; babies include toddlers and small three year olds.

And baby germs can turn a 3rd grader into a green-eyed monster, full of jealousy if Mom gets baby germs.

I explained to my 3rd grader that I will always love him, but that I love to hold and play with babies, too. And that no matter how many babies I touch, the love I have for him will cancel out all the baby germs in the world. He's not buying it, yet...

A week later

One week down, 35 to go. 3rd grade got off to a great start in spite of the newly implemented no t.v. / no video games during the week rule. A couple of complaints of "I'm bored" and "There's nothing to do" but he found something to do without me having to entertain him. That's what little brothers are for.

Bubbles on the back porch; board games in the playroom; and Walt Disney World in the living room. The boys figured out how to work together and play together.

I'm most excited about his desire to read. After bed time the other night, he was sitting by his door where just a little light was coming in through the crack, and he had Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone out. I asked what he was doing, and he replied, "You know, I'm in 3rd grade, so reading's gonna be my thing now."

We're reading every day. He's reading the Boxcar Children to me, and I'm reading A Series of Unfortunate Events to him. We want to see the movie this fall, but before we do, we have to read the books. We finished the Austere Academy (#5) today.

Nearly the beginning

It's Saturday, 10:45 p.m. and my nearly-3rd-grader just drifted off to sleep. How in the world is he gonna get to sleep early tomorrow night? School starts Monday, bright but not too early, thankfully.

Summer has been a blast - this has been the best one yet. An 8 year old with a 6 1/2 year old younger brother is a good mix. They played together without much need for me to watch, referree, etc. But I think they are both ready to go back to school. I know I'm ready for them to have a routine!