Monday, October 8, 2007

Ashton's Good Day

Many of you have been following the Ashton school saga. And I am happy to report that she had a GREAT day at school today. I watched in the window for the first hour and a half this morning because I wanted to see who or what was causing her aggressive behavior. She does not get reports about that type of behavior anywhere but school. I knew there had to be a reason for it and I know her personality. She's not a bully by nature. So I observed her doing finger painting. She was very neat and delicate about it. Then she played with the other kids very nicely, even sharing toys and purposefully taking toys out of the bin and carrying them over to other children in different parts of the room. And if you've ever had a 2 yr old, you know sharing is NOT characteristic of that age, but she was doing it beautifully. She was talking up a storm (half gibberish/half English) to anyone that would listen. She was being a mommy to every baby doll in the room. She was the primary cleaner upper when it was time to clean up. She went to town on that! And she was wherever the "party" was. Because she's my social one. If the party was in the play house, she was right in the middle of it serving plastic food to all the "party guests". There was one boy in the class that was OUT OF CONTROL aggressive. He was hitting, stealing toys, pretending to stab everyone with a plastic knife, etc. He stole toys from Ashton several times and some times she just walked away and some times she yelled at him, but never did she hit or pull hair or use any physical aggression. But he was the cause of every "issue" in the class today. After watching for an hour and a half, I saw all I needed to see. I saw a totally well adjusted two year old who was very sweet and social, who totally got along well with everyone in the room. And I saw a two year old boy who was the real bully of the class causing all the problems. She seemed to be enjoying herself and was happy to be there. And that's all I needed to know!

Lexi, on the other hand, has been in trouble lately for not following directions. And today her teacher pulled me aside and said, "PLEASE teach her how to use scissors." And then she proceeded to show me the other children's cutting projects compared to Lexi's. I admit, that's not something we've ever worked on. Mainly because I just thought, oh well, she'll learn that at school right? Apparently she's supposed to already be a master cutter. We don't even OWN a pair of child scissors. So I guess that's my next project! UGH. This whole school thing is just the beginning. I feel so defeated as a mom when I pick them up from school because it's always something negative. I just want to hear some good comments every now and then.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

No worries- Jacob didn't learn scissor cutting until kindergarten practically. Now, he's caught up. Glad to hear Ashton had a good day.
:)
Rachel

Anonymous said...

Yea Ashton! I'm glad to hear things are going great. Lexi's a fast learner, she'll get the scissors thing in no time!

A Perfect Pandemonium said...

Kids all learn things at different paces. My first grader is having some learning problems at school right now and we're having to work on it A LOT at home. It wears on you after a while but his teacher is GREAT. Even though he's struggling with his work, she always has something positive to say!

Hey, when I was in Kindergarten, my teacher had to send extra "cutting" homework home to catch me up! It didn't set back any, I still was able to pull it all together and get into A&M (they don't really look at you cutting abilities!)

Texas Aggie in Florida said...

I guess I should have specified...Ashton didn't know I was watching her. She couldn't see me from the teeny tiny window that was up high on the door. So all that good behavior and she didn't even know I was there!

Anonymous said...

I always knew my sweet Ashton was an angel. I know she can hold her own, I have seen her in action, but never a BULLY.

Lexi Lou, there are more important things in life than cutting with scissors. She is so busy learning new vocabulary words and their meanings and asks questions about everything. She will not be left behind because of her cutting skills.
I love your guys,
Granny

Mel :-) said...

So glad to hear that she had such a good day! :-) I bet you were so proud to stand there and watch how well she was sharing and cleaning up!
Don't beat yourself up over the negative things their teachers say; that reflects more on them than you. You know your girls are learning, growing, and doing wonderfully! :-)

mom2iande said...

That is great for ashton...i think the scissor thing will come....i am always afraid clothing will get cut!

Anonymous said...

Yay, ASHTON! I am so proud of our little thumbalina! :)

I am actually dealing with similar issues right now with Sebastian. I have got to toughen up when it comes to teachers. I blew up week before last and started crying b/c I really felt like Sebastian wasn't being properly cared for. It is so heart wrenching to think that the people that you pay to care for your child may not be giving them the care they need. I will be praying for you girls and their schools, but could you please return the favor? I love you guys... we missed you last week.

Rhonda

A Perfect Pandemonium said...

Hey, go to my blog and click on the link in my latest post. Let me know if you've seen this already. Thought you might like it!