Breakthroughs for E

E had several cool breakthroughs this week: He helped a new boy from our neighborhood (and is in his class) by hanging out with him at the bus stop, introducing him to others on the bus, walking with him to class, and sitting with him at lunch. Doesn't seem like much but E has a scarcity mentality about friends and worries that introducing someone new to one of his current friends will cause the old friend to abandon him for the newer friend. He also helped a younger child from his bus who was lost on the way to class. On Wednesday I was completely shocked when out of the blue E said: Mom thanks for making me do those pages during the summer-- I knew the answers today and no one else did so I got to raise my hand and answer a lot. Raising his hand to answer in class is a benefit of having a child who likes all the attention all the time. I will be arrested for the final breakthrough if E's 4th grade math teacher finds out what I have done. Last year before the students began learning long division a letter was sent home telling us they would be learning a new way and parents were not allowed to help the students at home and the "old method" should not be introduced to the kids. We had to sign and return it with our pledge not to show them the "old fashioned way". Thus began a journey through a math chapter where parents could see a clear way, but had to let the kids struggle through the new math way where the work that went into it took twice as long. Well, with a new grade beginning and no signed agreement in place (yet) I stepped out and showed E the "old way" to do long division this week. I actually saw the light go on and a look of amazement cross his little face when he saw that there was an easy way to do what he had been taught to do in a million different steps. And he got every problem after that right without using 4 extra pages to do the work. Sometimes Mom does know best. love and hugs and sorry about not having paragraph breaks-- different computer and I am trying to figure out how to make it work,B