Well, Maybe Only 1 Worm in the Apple

The conference wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. You know, crying, yelling, rolling on the floor in tantrums. I'm proud of myself. I did really well. Really the problem is that Dani doesn't do her class work. And when she does it is scattered. She has a few things working against her. She is one of the youngest in her class. She is left handed, which I know from experience is difficult to master, she hates writing. The literal act of writing. You put a pencil in her hand and her body goes limp.

So, we aren't saying that she is going to be retained, but she has to show her teacher that she can do her work. Dani's teacher loves her. She said she has never met a child like her. She said she would consider having Dani tested for enrichment or gifted if Dani would turn in some work.

There were a couple of things that I brought up that the teacher didn't realize and she resolved to stop saying those things. For example, over Thanksgiving, Dani told us that her teacher said that she wasn't going to 2nd grade. The teacher followed that up this morning by saying that you have to show your work in first grade because in second grade things will be harder. There is a lot of independent work in second grade. The teacher realized that some children, like Dani, may internalize that and it would be a negative comment as opposed to a motivating one.

The plan for now is to that the teacher is going to talk to the school counselor because I want to know if there are anxiety issues that are hindering her confidence. Because, really, my perception of Dani is that she is afraid of doing something wrong, so she would rather do nothing. We will probably follow up with the counselor ourselves.

Also, I remember being in those early grades and being terrified of school. I didn't fit in, I always forgot things like homework and permissions slips which put me on a downward sprial with my teachers. We lived in rural PA so I had no friends to play with which caused me to lag in social skills and really the only kids that my mother wanted us to associate with were other JW's. Like I said, RURAL PA. We drove almost an hour to get to our weekly meetings where there were other JW children. I remember once when my 4th grade teacher pulled me out of the classroom because I wasn't getting something in Math and he got in my face with his coffee and cigarette breath asking me 'what my problem was. This was 3rd grade stuff and there was no reason to not get it. And what was going on at home?' It was awful. So, I definitely want to know if there is an anxiety issue that we need to address.

Also, Dani is just difficult to motivate. I remember trying to entice her with toys to roll over when she was a baby and she was just happy to look at them. She didn't crawl until 10 months, walked at 15 and she has never shown interest in doing things with her hands. Except sucking her thumb.

She's not even motivated to wiggled her teeth to get money from the tooth fairy. And let me tell you, the tooth fairy that works in Florida is pretty cool. She leaves gold dollar coins and she leaves glittery fairy dust on the windowsill. She has had 3 loose teeth since August and she only lost the first one over winter break. Because it practically fell out on its own. I swear if she could have put glue in her mouth to keep it there forever, she would have. So, yes, motivation is an issue.

Also, there is something else that has happened that I just don't know how to share. It's not to do with Dani. With me. I'm just surprised. So, I'll mull it over and I'll decide what to do.