Friday, September 25, 2009

It was just a matter of time...

before the mischief man got put onto red in Preschool. Green is color for good behavior, yellow is caution and red is BAD. He skipped yellow entirely and went right to RED. I don't have the full story but the gist of it was that today during a rain storm, the teacher told all of the children to stay put under a protective covering until they could get back to the classroom. Evidently, Ethan decided that he wanted to venture out into the rain. The teacher warned him several times not to venture out as she could tell he was heading that way. Well, he did anyway and got soaked at school....not good :( She was not happy with him at all! The teacher keeps a communication folder for us that she writes in every day as to his daily activities and whether there were issues or not. Ethan will usually tell me as he gets off the bus and before I can open the folder if there was an issue, which usually has to do with his eating. This time, he said nothing and when I asked him about it he looked sad to tell me that he was on RED. I reinforced Miss Mary's position and placed him in an additional 4 minute (one minute for each year of his age) time out. I am all about reinforcing the teacher.

I hate to say it but I have been quite surprised that E has not been put onto RED before. Miss Mary has up to now, not really witnessed much of the Ethan that we know and love; the one that pushes the limits A LOT and usually looking at you full in the face with a smirk while he is doing it. Hopefully, this is the last that she will see this year of our adorable little son that has the angelic smile and the horns growing out of his head. Boy oh boy!

9 comments:

Unknown said...

As I picked up Caroline today, the parking lot supervisor told me that her teacher wanted to speak to me. Uh oh.

We've been reinforcing good behavior with Caroline when it comes to her teacher. She apparently had it in her head during the first few days of school that since the teacher was not her mom, she didn't have to do what she said. I explained to her that I gave the teacher permission to teach her and that I expect her to behave nicely and put on her good listening ears and do her best. Her teacher and I decided that every day she does this, she gets a stamp and after 4 stamps, she gets a treat from mom.

Yesterday, she had a sub. Caroline decided that since she was not her teacher, she didn't have to obey. So she did not earn a stamp that day and she understood why.

This parenting thing is hard! Worth it, but hard!

I am all about reinforcing the teacher's rules and backing them up! Together, we can help our children become successful.

Unknown said...

Correction, 5 stamps.

Missy said...

Boy, oh boy is my sentiments exactly. I teach first grade and have 24 little ones, the majority being boys. I LOVE them and their mischievious sides. You are a good mommy to reinforce the teacher's position. Ethan's a cutie pie :) Hope he has only green days ahead!

Tammie said...

Reinforcing what the teacher is doing at home is a great thing. Too many parents don't follow up at home.

I'm not too surprised that Ethan hasn't been on red before this. He has finally found his feet in school as far as allowing Miss Mary to see those horns - as adorable as they are. (Okay. I'm biased. You knew that.)

Then again, there is something about the rain & playing in it. There are times I wish I were young enough to get away with it myself.

Love Letters To China said...

Funny you write this post now... when I picked Liam up from school on Wednesday I was told my sweet little angel hit and pinched another child. I too wasn't surprised. I was waiting for this little chat to happen. My sweet big girl has been "playing around" with him and has taught him to punch and pinch. All the hard work we did when he first got home trying to teach him not to hit has returned. Never a dull moment... :)

Chasing Dreams Photography said...

LOL I'm sorry I know this isn't funny but it reminds me of Tyler when he was in kindergarten. He was often put in red. I fully support the teachers but I didn't support this particular teacher (she had horns)After about a week of school, Tyler had enough of the teacher. She put him in red for the last time and my sweet son said "My mom is going to beat you up". LOL Trust me, I thought about it but pulled him out of the school before getting myself arrested LOL
Love your little E stories...he is so full of life!!! I love it!!!

Sue said...

We have been having similar issues with Natalie. Since she went back to school, she is, well, not the most compliant with school rules. lol Lately, Jon noticed that when I scold her, she gets really rambunctious and the more I react, the worse she gets. Not really means, but pretty passive-aggressive. "I'm not naughty, I'm being funny" as she sticks out her tongue at you when you tell her to do something. And she is laughing the whole time she is disobeying.

I am going to try the signal light method. See if that works. I need to find SOMETHING that works.

Thanks for the idea.

Mary McG in TN said...

There is a great children's chapter book called "Did You Carry the Flag Today, Charlie?". It is set in Appalachia and one of the things that he does is run out of the classroom and sits on a rock in the pouring rain! Sounds like Ethan. LOL I know that you are light years away from the area, but might serve as a reminder of what curious little boys do.

Thank you for supporting the teacher - that means a lot to all of the teachers out there - including me who is in her last year of a 35 year career.

Vivian M said...

I think all our children at one point or another push the limits with a smirk, lol.
I think it is important that teachers and parents support each other too.
Although I have to admit, I envy Ethan, there are many times when I wish I could throw common sense out the window and go back to childhood and run out and splash in the rain puddles!