Confidence

I really do not have time to blog, but I can't help sharing some of the changes I am noticing in this child my mom brought back from the trip.

I know have a more mature-acting, seemingly elementary-age child living in my house, as opposed to the the child that had seemingly tettered between preschool and school-age all summer. The child that one minute would be 6 and the next a mass of 3-year-old emotional turmoil. Of course, I would love to say that it is all because of the new schedule and chart that I have implemented in our days, but even I cannot do that. We have only been on it for 3 days, and she has not really even really trie to push the boundaries, yet.

What I have noticed is CONFIDENCE and a sense of knowing herself, that has never really been there. She has gone on a big trip all the way across the country without me, she has experienced things without her immediate family.

MB has always exuded confidence and a "I can do it" attitude when it comes to physical, kinesthetic type activities, but working with her on her lessons and talking to her about things that I know she knows she was very shy and always seemed to be worried that she might get it wrong. The past couple of days we have had a child bubbling over to share whatever information on a topic she might have, one that bites at the chance to show me that she knows the answer.

Truthfully, I am a little taken aback by what she has just 'picked up'. Today when I told her that we would be moving into dimes tomorrow for math and that we would start with a review of counting by 10s, she promptly receited to 100. She has never done this alone, no matter how many times we have reviewed it. Then again tonight it was a math game she had picked up and fiddled with while I was reading to her, when I glanced over I noticed that she was doing her +3 and +4's with little problem. Something we have never gone over in any organized way. There have been other instances concerning some science and biology of insects. She has just been willing to take chances and share so much - even, gasp, emotionally.

Can I say that this has extended into the reading arena, no, she is still fighting that, but instead of with a "I can't do it", it is now a "I don't like to do it." That battle will come later. Things are going too well right now for me to rock that ship.

All I have to say is that I hope that I don't do any damage to this new persona in the house, with my awkward parenting. The first one is always so hard, I really am a more confident parent with K an EM than I am with MB, even now.

Peace,

Amy