PROUD PARENT

Today Olivia's class went on a field trip to a neighborhood bank. There is a lady from the bank who has been teaching a Junior Achievement lessons to them and today was the day they were able to visit her at the bank where she works. Nick and I went along as chaperones and had a really nice afternoon. The kids were good and really had fun. They loved the treats and gold dollar coins they were given. When we got back to the school, the class wrote thankyou notes and nick was able to sit at the empty desk next to Olivia and write one, too. I could tell by the look on his face that he was thrilled to be a second-grader, even if only for an hour!

The best part of the day though, was when we first arrived at the school. The kids were lining up to leave when Olivia's teacher approached me with a big smile on her face and pulled me out into the hallway. She said, "Now, I'm not supposed to be telling you this, but do you remember the standardized testing we did with the kids a few weeks ago? Well, the results came back and I want you to know that Olivia did very, very well. Extremely well. Unbelievably well. She has a very high I.Q. and you should consider having her tested for gifted education." I stood there with a big goofy grin on my face as she continued, "I have to turn in all the test results today but I want to show you her results before I do so. I want to talk to you about some things you should be doing with her at home. You have no idea how lucky you are." At that very moment,  and only for a second, I wanted a bumper sticker that said,"Proud parent of a Wilson Elementary Honor Student!" Is there anything better that a parent can hear from their child's teacher other than that they are excelling in school? We have always known she is a smart little cookie. She reads well, excels at math and remembers everything she has ever been told. (This can be good and bad!) We really haven't had to worry much about her in the school department, other than making sure her homework gets done and then the morning ritual of dragging her out of bed...I have, however, wondered about her a bit this year since she has been complaining of "being so bored" and just "doing nothing" all day. This year she hasn't seemed to enjoy the school work much and now after talking to her teacher, I think I get it. She really is bored out of her mind.
After school her teacher reviewed the test results with me and discussed several things that we can do with her at home to challenge and stretch her learning. I talked with Liv about it and she is willing to implement a few new things into our daily routine. We have new math websites to work on and a few other things that I am hoping will help her get her spark back when it comes to school. We are going to be doing more cooking(fractions), weaving(small crafts for hand-eye coordination and patterns), memorizing of her piano pieces, and start having spelling tests at home. She is a hardworker, focused and diligent, when she is doing something she loves and I think she will enjoy all of it. I hope that someday she realizes how wonderful it is to be able to learn and think and read about so many wonderful things and be able to comprehend it all so easily. She does have a special gift; a good memory and a curious mind will make every day of her life more meaningful and interesting. Throw in her sweet personality and big heart and she is already a helpful, generous, creative little person of whom we couldn't be more proud. Is there room for all of that on a bumper sticker?