Star of the Week

November 28, 2011: Week Ten: Star of the Week

Freddy brought a letter home from school advising that he was chosen to be “Star of the Week”.  I was so pleased! My son is not only behaving appropriately but is also demonstrating skills that seem to be typical. What a far cry from the time he began preschool last year. At the age of 3, his capacity to communicate included roughly 10 words. He experienced speech language difficulty, and other developmental delays including delayed social skills. He qualified for special services at the pre–elementary school in our district.

Last year, he made extensive improvement and was moved from a self–contained special education class to a general education inclusion class. So as you can imagine, I am overjoyed with receiving news that he will be “Star of the Week”. He has taken awe-inspiring strides toward advancement. I am thrilled.

With this honor comes the responsibility of preparing and sharing information about his likes and favorite things. I was informed that this assignment required the creation of a poster displaying Freddy’s favorite items and photos we were willing to share. I know that I should not complain, but not only do I have endless amounts of homework myself but now we also need to complete homework for his pre–k class.

I must say, as anxious as I am with catching up on my own schoolwork, it was quite entertaining to choose photos and toys that he would share in the upcoming week. I believe that this activity boosts confidence in these young preschoolers. Every student in my son’s class will earn a week in which they will be “Star”. This week is Freddy’s moment to shine. I am pleased to see that he was not the final student chosen which signifies to me that he is performing at a satisfactory level in class.

He was excited to choose his favorite books to reveal at ‘show and tell’. He could not decide on which book he desired to share more so he narrowed it down to two. My son loves to read. We read together just about every night before bedtime. I believe that this also contributes to the improvement in speech along with the speech services he receives weekly.

As I met with my son’s teacher at the end of his “Star” week for parent–teacher conference, she informed me that Freddy did exceptionally well with presenting his poster board before his classmates. She added that his social skills are developing adequately and that he is improving tremendously since the beginning of the school year. I was pleasantly surprised. He does struggle in other areas however, I assumed that socialization would be the last area in which he would overcome barriers. I was incorrect. Never underestimate the power of a child.

My son did struggle socially just a few short months ago, so to hear that he is presenting publicly is amazing to me. I am so thankful for the progress that he has accomplished and continues to achieve.

My star’s poster was sweet and we managed to include many photos. I hope that he keeps up the good work. The best part of it all was that we spent quality time putting it all together.

Mom, Mum, Mommy

November 19, 2011: Week Nine: Mom, Mum, Mommy

I love my son with all of my heart but occasionally, his actions drive me off the wall, particularly the numerous times he calls on me in the day. He yells my name every other minute. Mom…mom… mom… mom… mom…that is the one word I hear most often every single day. I understand that he is just 4 years old but seriously? Can Freddy go one whole minute without calling me a gazillion times?

My son is a well–behaved child for the most part. He has his moments of tantrum, frustration, and tears but that is normal and expected for his age. Otherwise, he is a wonderful boy. He has a respectable heart and temperament and I would sacrifice my life for him in a second without hesitation.

However, sometimes…..

I become frustrated when hearing Mom a thousand times a day. He demands my attention for no particular reason, and Thank God, it is never due to suffering or injury. He tugs at my sleeve in the hopes that I will gaze at him intently while he plays or urges me to join in. I truly enjoy spending quality time with my son, I do, honestly, I do.

Nevertheless, as a human being who has numerous responsibilities that are endless, it becomes exhausting at times. I would prefer to play with him all day and focus my undivided attention on him and nothing else. Nothing would give me more pleasure. Unfortunately, I do not have that luxury in life. And that is fine. I acclimate to juggling my activities.

I am astounded when watching other mothers accomplish so much more. Honestly, I applaud these women. I have just one child and I struggle. What about the moms who have 3, 4 or 5 or twins, triplets, or more? God Bless them. I do not believe that I would possess the strength or ability to accomplish that. Perhaps these moms with more children have external support whether from extended family or professional services. That would explain how these mothers achieve a great deal of work. I am not in possession of any additional relief. I am the one who labors in everything.

Again, I must state how much I love my son. I do not want people to have the wrong impression. Being his mom is an honor and he is the greatest experience of my life. With that being said, I must also reiterate how inconvenient it is to hear mom, mom, mom, all day; every day. Oh why, oh why, must he do this? Is it because he has no siblings? Is he just bored? I can schedule more play dates but who has that kind of time?

I must be doing something right though. As he pleas for his mommy over and over throughout the day, I am proud to say that at the end of each day he tells me: “You’re a good mommy”. That just melts my heart every time. Now those are words I could hear repeatedly without ever becoming frustrated.

As difficult as this may be in the moment, I must laugh it off and remember how blessed I am to have him.

I waited an eternity to be a mom and I love it! I would not trade it for anything!

Fun at The Little Gym

November 5, 2011: Week Eight: Fun at The Little Gym

No soccer again this week. Freddy has a double ear infection once again! Now that he is receiving antibiotics to heal this infection, I revived the hunt for other kid activities since he is not a fan of soccer. A friend of mine mentioned that her son participates in Taekwondo each week; however I am not convinced that Freddy will agree to that. He is just so picky.



google images/thinkinglikemommy.blogspot.com

Returning to The Little Gym seems like a sensible option. We attended parent–child classes there some time ago when Freddy was an infant through the age of two. Just prior to his second birthday, Freddy was undergoing evaluations for speech language difficulty as well as other developmental delays. We needed to temporarily discontinue our participation at The Little Gym due to these assessments. I was committed to locating the resources that Freddy required for those delays and so we sadly said goodbye to The Little Gym.

Thinking back to those times, I was overly concerned that my son had serious developmental delays. He did not perform at a level equivalent to other toddlers; with his speech delay and social skills underdeveloped, I was worried. I still worry. As a mom, most likely, I will always worry.

Now that he is 4 years old and improving dramatically with his speech, I decided to revisit The Little Gym to see which classes are available for his age group. When I learned that a “Sports Skills Development” class is offered for ages 3–6, I was delighted.

We recently attended a birthday party at The Little Gym and as it fostered positive memories, I witnessed Freddy’s contentment as his face lit up with excitement. He informed me that he wished to return to active involvement there. I was surprised but enthusiastic. If soccer is not his specialty, that is acceptable, but he needs to assume some type of activity. As he displayed interest in returning to The Little Gym, I was all for it.

The staff remembered us which created a smooth enrollment into an introductory “Sports Skills Development” class. Once his double ear infection and my bronchitis surrendered to the battle, off to the class we went. He truly enjoyed this class. He had a few reservations at first since this class does not promote a parent–child involvement, and since he is attached to my hip, he hesitated with joining in. Once he became active, it was all smiles from there. It was nice to see the same teacher we had two years ago, she was also teaching this class. Freddy had  established a relationship with her and this eased his participation into this kid–friendly class.   

The class consisted of boys mostly his age, and they welcomed him which gave him a boost of confidence. I was aware that he achieved improvement over the last two years, but I was amazed to see how much and how well he was doing socially and physically. It is welcoming to see that other classes are offered other than gymnastics–only classes.

Since he completed the introductory class, performed well, and displayed an interest, I intend to enroll Freddy in this weekly class. I am pleased that we rediscovered one of his passions. The Little Gym is somewhat pricey but seeing that big smile on his face is worth every penny. They do offer reasonable payment plan options which help.

At this time, he simply may not be prepared to play soccer and he is yet quite young. This class introduces concepts that include a variety of sports and teaches skills on team sports and participation. It seems like an ‘introductory to play sports’ class. Strength and agility are improved here as well. At the same time, he loves it and has loads of fun which demonstrates the opposite attitude he held in playing soccer.

So for now, The Little Gym it is.

Check out their website: http://www.thelittlegym.com/Pages/default.aspx