My Kid Is Not Perfect

Last week Friday was Aiden's report card conference at school. I sat down with both his teachers for about 45 minutes or so to discuss all things Aiden, and I can sum it up with one thought -- my kid is not perfect. But... he's quite lovely.

This is going to come off as stereotypical, but Aiden is all boy. He's always been a rambunctious, fiery, little ball of energy. He's in a new school this year and really loves it, which makes him even more excited, especially on days when his class has something fun. Like swimming. Or PE. Or library. Or on Mondays. Or Tuesdays. Or Wed-- you get the point.

Aiden's teacher had glows and grows to say about him.

Glows:
Aiden is a little mathematician.
He's one of the only kids in his class who can count backwards from 100 -- 0. (That's gotta mean something, right?)

Aiden has a really good number sense and he even helps his friends solve number problems too.
In his class, the students are encouraged to choose their own work for a portion of the morning after morning meeting, and Aiden loves to choose the Penguin Work. With this, he rolls a die and picks up the amount of penguins on the die, rolls a die that is a plus (+) sign, rolls another die and picks up the amount of penguins on that die, and adds it all up. He then has to write out the number sentence. (Example: 3+5=8). He loves choosing this work and is really good at it.

Aiden knows his sight words, and the sounds of letters.
He's well on his way to becoming a strong reader and writer, and he's able to sound out many words (because we've done a lot of practicing with me saying, "What sounds do you hear in the word _____? Great! Now write that down!)

Aiden is opinionated and writes letters to the school's staff members.
No, really. They were out of bread in the cafe so Aiden wrote a letter to the school's chef, saying [sic], "Deer shef tim, we need mor bred." (aka "Dear Chef Tim, We need more bread." Not bad, huh?)

Aiden is mega popular. And funny.
(And, I'll add, silly). As his teachers said, "He's SO popular and funny. All the other kids love him. When he comes in the morning, they all say, 'Aiden!' and crowd around him." 

Aiden is kind and caring and likes to be there for his friends. He loves school and has grown a lot since that first day he arrived in September.

Grows:
Aiden is a rambunctious, fiery, little ball of energy. And that doesn't always work well in a school setting. Sigh. Most days he has to be reminded to sit quietly in his class meeting. (Sometimes his teachers give him a lap pad in an attempt to help him sit quietly.)

When he actually does sit in meeting, Aiden calls out and talks over his friends because his thoughts are so important and he has to get them out. Right this instant. (We're actually working on this at home because he cuts me off does it to me and I find it really annoying I've learned that I need to teach him habits of discussion.)

Aiden doesn't always keep his hands to himself and touches his friends while walking in line or transitioning from one room to the other. Not cool.

So... my kid is not perfect.

But, still... he's quite lovely.

And it's a work in progress.

{The photos are scenes from his Aiden's holiday photo shoot. Stay tuned for the holiday card.}