Last week, M came up to me and asked, “Mom, is there some day that you can either bring me to school early or pick me up if I stay late, so I can make up the Spanish quiz I missed due to the orthodontist appointment?”
This completely blew me away for a number of reasons:
- He realized he needed to make up the quiz.
- He asked the teacher what his options were.
- He was looking into this when there were still a few weeks of school left, so there was ample time to pick a day that fit my schedule.
This is miles ahead of how he was functioning halfway through the year, when he stopped handing in Spanish homework at all, due to general disorganization.
And today there were two more signs of just how responsible he’s becoming. First, he found out ahead of time that his big poster project would be coming home today. So I sent him to school with a giant garbage bag, since rain was predicted. And at the end of the day, he actually remembered to use the bag, and he managed to tuck it very neatly over the project, so it stayed dry on the walk home from the bus stop.
Second, when I got home, I found a note from M that he’d gone to the neighbor’s house to play. (He’s allowed to do this after school, as long as he lets me know that’s where he is.) What was surprising was there was also a message on the answering machine from E. Evidently M had tried to call me at work to tell me he was going to the neighbor’s house, but when I didn’t pick up because I’d already left, he called E at work to tell her. He has never called her at work before, but he consulted the list of numbers by the phone and found her cell phone number and called, just in case I came home and didn’t see the note.
Woohoo! Let’s hear it for maturity.
wow, he’s pretty good!! I hope it sticks!