Building up a Child....

The Straightforward Son is in his very first year of preschool. It was a big decision for us to send him, especially since I would be home full-time this year. We really thought and prayed about the decision and felt that it was time. The first day was a little rough as he had a nervous tummy and I had to come get him early from school. The mom in me took over and made me think, "Is this such a good idea?" When I arrived to pick him up, he was devastated that he had to leave. Day two came and he hardly even said bye as he bolted into the classroom. He hasn't looked back since.

It has been a great investment! He has blossomed and loves the kids in his class (minus the one little girl who dumped the sand on his head). He adores all of his teachers. I couldn't ask for more (except maybe for him to stop skipping numbers 13-19 when he counts to 20--he says he just wants to get it over with). Today, he came home as excited as I have ever seen.

Each day, the Straightforward Baby and I go out to the car to welcome the Straightforward Dad and Son home. Today, the look on his face when I came to the window to make our usual funny face welcome said it all. He was beaming--no, glowing! He jumped out and bee-bopped up to give me the usual hug yelling, "I knew all my letters!" As soon as Straightforward Dad gets out of the car, he starts pouring out all of the compliments the teacher had given our smart little guy. I couldn't help but laugh and smile at all the things I was told. The Straightforward Son knows he is a smart and I wondered if all the compliments would go to his head. Oh, did I not expect what would happen next.

After lunch, he and I started making cupcakes for the Straightforward Dad's 29th birthday (yes ladies, I snagged me a younger man). While I was frosting and he was adding dashes of--make that dumping--sprinkles onto the tops of the cupcakes, the greatest thing came out of his mouth. (Ok, so I know some of you are still trying to get over the shock of me actually baking something--PAY ATTENTION!) "Look at this Mommy! It's beautiful. I am such a genius!" It was the cutest thing. I asked him who told him that he was a genius. "My teacher said I was a genius." Now, I don't know if this is true or not. I have no verification of his statement as of yet. I'll keep you posted since the Straightforward Dad is going to ask tomorrow. Even if she didn't say it, during his pre-test today, she made him feel like it. As a teacher, I believe that to be one of my ultimate goals--to give a child the tools and the confidence to say they feel like a genius. What a blessing! I think he said it about five thousand times today (including calling me a genius for making such great cupcakes--no they weren't burnt and tasted great).

I have made it a goal of mine to become more of an encourager. As you can read in my last post, I haven't always been successful in that ambition. The Straightforward Son's proclamation today gave me some much needed encouragement to keep trying to make every person I come in contact with feel better about themselves. I want to give some compliments and make someone feel like a genius! If you could have seen the Straightforward Son's smile today, you would want to too!