Our youngest, age 5, has become a little too comfortable in his classroom of late and his teacher brought it to our attention. I asked her to text me with updates. It’s been well over a week since we talked so I thought things were going well. Yesterday morning we received our first text from her.
“#2son has needed constant redirection and has been excessively silly today. Have a great weekend! – Mrs. Wonderful”
I begin to laugh. And then I think, there’s some great blog fodder in here, I know it. But I’m laughing too hard to type.
First, let me say #2son’s teacher truly is wonderful. I love her to death and she is perfect for our son, hence the name Mrs. Wonderful.
But there’s this part of me that wants to say, then deal with him. What can I do about it from home?
Then there’s the part of me that wants to do what my friend suggested and text her back with “Well, then TGIF, right?”
Then there’s another part of me that knows exactly, EXACTLY, what she’s dealing with and I’m with her – what can we do about it?
And still another part of me is still cracking up over the quick little sentence closed with “Have A Great Weekend!”
#2son is the class clown. And adorable. And sweet, imaginative and funny. Needs redirection? All. The. Time. Excessively silly? You betcha. He wants to be an actor. He performs in front of the mirror constantly. He is continually in Imaginary Land. His world is punctuated with sound effects. One day he’s fighting aliens. Or a sailor on the high seas standing on the couch with his spyglass looking for shark. The next day he’s a pirate, or Yoda, or Spiderman (especially funny when I see him trying to adhere to the walls).
When he got into the car at carpool I asked him how his day was. “Good,” he replied. That’s not what Mrs. Wonderful said, I told him. “Oh,” he said. Long dramatic pause. Then he said, “Well, it sure was good to ME!”
See what I mean? I started laughing all over again.
Thank goodness my husband is the disciplinarian in our family. Obviously, I’m not cut out for this.
Theycallmejane's Blog 
I’m laughing because #2 sounds very similar to my #1. Her teachers try to be nice about it, using terms like “very high-energy” and “greatly enthusiastic”…but I know that deep down they mean, “Lady, your kid is Jet-Powered! Give her a valium before sending her to school, wouldja?”
PS: Have a Great Weekend! *snort*
Jet-Powered! I love it!
Kids are supposed to have fun at that age. Sometimes I think we as a society expect way too much from them, I mean how many adults with all that stuff around and for that much time wouldn’t start to get a little silly?
Mrs. Wonderful is a bit business-like, which is what we felt #2 son might need to reign in his “jet-powered” personality. But I’m with you – we need to let children be children.
I have Cooper’s Fall conference on Tuesday, and I am bracing myself to hear the same thing. He is so freakin’ high-energy and high-maintenance (bless his little heart) – that’s WHY I send him to school . . . let someone else enjoy his enthusiasm and bouncing-off-the-wall antics! I love that she sends you texts . . . I wonder if I could follow C.’s preschool teacher on Twitter?
I know! #2son’s energy level is the prime reason we don’t homeschool.
“Well, it sure was good to ME!” Perfect! Point is, however, if there is a problem with his behaviour he is blissfully unaware of it and, er, doesn’t that mean that the teacher is not doing her job? You’re right, it’s a fat load of use throwing that particular ball back in your court!
However. I’m with ‘beth’ (above). Crumbs…he’s *five*!
Oh, and yeah, have a good weekend. 😉
Actually, he isn’t exactly “blissfully unaware.” He knew exactly what I was asking about – you could see it in his eyes when I asked. And I agree with you and beth – maybe 5 yr. olds act a little silly sometimes.
You have a good weekend, too! (You ladies crack me up. It’s why I like Blog World so much!)
“It was good to me!” That is just perfect!
Look for him on SNL or The Daily Show in a few years. He has the best one-liners!
Love this! Even as a high school students I still get “that kid” every year and despite the distractions, I usually end up loving him (it’s almost always a boy)! It may be because my younger brother who is 10, is also “that child”. His latest antic? Stacking all the available stools and chairs in the house on top of each other to make a high seat, and then stacking blocks under his microphone to bring it up to the same level. What was he doing? Being a tennis match referee!
Who knew what the US Open would inspire? That’s too funny!
I say nurture the silliness. He will be a happier adult. We need more silly in the world and sailors too.
Some of the most interesting, delightful children are a handful. You hate to stifle them, I know! But he seems adorable to me.
Her text reminds me of people who will type an insult to you in comments, then follow it with a 🙂 as if that makes it all better. Or LOL. People think if they add LOL at the end, they can say anything.
Re: her text….she’s British. Maybe there’s a poke at humor in there? She does have a very dry sense of humor.
Wouldn’t it be great if we adults could have that attitude…..It was good to ME! Ahhh…perspective makes life less carefree sometimes. Sounds like your house is consistently entertaining:)!!!
I love his answer! Very honest!
hahaha! I love you and your son! What a great pair. He must have inherited the “fun” and “lovable” trait from you!
My teachers always sent my parents a note saying that I’m too “dreamy” and that I “build castles in the air”.
And look where you are now! You are very accomplished at such a young age!
Love his response! And seriously, you don’t want them to be all serious and stuffy at 5 years old! He seems to be channeling his energy towards imaginary and creative play, which indicates he’s one of those kids with high IQs. 🙂 They all eventually mellow out, you just have to wait longer than the other parents. As my MIL says, “Wait till they are 25!” LOL.
20 more years? Oh no!
An active imagination is a sign of pure brilliance. Trust me, I should know… I was just like that as a child. 🙂
I’ll keep reminding myself of this, thanks!
I think we need more excessive silliness in the world! Hugs!