Pokemon Rules

Never again will I roll my eyes when the boys wave their Pokemon cards around, trading back and forth with a verve rivaled only by those who work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

I hate to say it, but I think the bribery aspect was the number one thing that kept Finn focused on succeeding today. I would like to think otherwise, but alas, it would be untrue.

Now, it's not to say that I think it will be smooth sailing from here on out. While Finn was so proud of making it through the day without crying, AND the sticker he received from his teacher for a job well done, at bedtime (of course) the "I don't want to go to school" lament started. And he's definitely having trouble getting to sleep. In a way, I'm dreading the weekend because I'm afraid Monday will be like starting from scratch. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it as Ma Ingalls liked to say. Or don't borrow trouble from tomorrow, today has enough of its own. Did Ma ever say that? That Ma--she was so wise.

Based on your e-mails to me and the posts in the guestbook, I'm guessing some of you are wondering my we aren't just yanking Finn out of his class and moving him to a new class. Or a new school for that matter! Last week when we met with Finn's OT and received the official evaluation report, one thing she made very clear was that change will be something that is difficult for Finn. And very disruptive. So while the situation has been very difficult (to say the least), we feel the need to attempt to stick it out to see if we can avoid causing Finn further disruption and confusion.

Academically, I don't have any concerns. I know that sounds like I think my kid is Wile E. Coyote, Super Genius, but one of the bonuses of spending so much time with me and then going into a very small private preschool is that Finn got a lot of one on one educational attention, even though it was a play-based preschool. The result was that he "tested" very high and he is well beyond where he should theoretically be at this point in his school life. No, our biggest concern remains the social issues. In his current class, not only is there a little girl who was at preschool with him last year, but two of his best little buddies are also in his class. And our next door neighbor who he spends a lot of time with, even if she is a girl and loves to wear pink, is also with him. He doesn't know anyone in Mrs. Angel's class at this point. So again, I know it sounds crazy, but while to our adult minds it sounds like making the switch to Mrs. Angel would be totally logical, it would likely be problematic for Finn. It's hard. We second guess ourselves all the time. Never fear--while we do want to support Finn's teacher, in the end, it's the lowest of our priorities. We've got bigger fish to fry right now.

And while all of this drama has been going on, I turn around and look at Declan who is absolutely blossoming. Is that weird to say about a boy? When we moved from Ohio, Declan really struggled. While I loved his first grade teacher, that whole year was tough. He went to four different schools in four years: preschool to kindergarten--two different schools in Ohio, then to Colorado for first grade where he attended a school where we were living temporarily, and then finally to our neighborhood school for second grade. This is the first time since he was 3 that he stayed at the same school for two years in a row. We were so lucky to have Mrs. V for second grade. I miss her, even though she's still there. There's something about those teachers who have 20+ years under their belts who are just so calming and wonderful. Ahhhh, it makes me happy just thinking about them.

This year it looks like we've scored again with Declan's teacher--Mrs. T. Back to School Night was last night and we were so pleased with everything we heard from her. And Declan really seems to LIKE school. Not once has he said he doesn't want to go. He comes home excited about what he learned that day. And he's spouting off random facts to the point that we've started calling him Mr. Britannica. However, maybe for the cyber-age we need to call him Mr. Wikipedia.

But that is the kind of school experience everyone wants for their kids. I am so happy it's happening for Declan and I can't wait for it to happen for Finn as well. I know it will.

For now we're back to the baby steps. It's 8:30pm and I'm already getting an anxious feeling in my stomach about tomorrow. I will have to pull myself together tomorrow and get things done no matter how the day goes. I have a work deadline on Friday and missing it isn't an option! I've never timed myself so I'm wondering how long it will take me to crank out an 1,800 word article on the bright side that will come from the convergence of International Financial Reporting Standards and U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principals. Thoughts on this? Anyone?

Amazing how fast that topic can put you to sleep.