It Only Took 4 Days...

I’m bummed tonight and Ron is traveling, so my blog is serving as my dumping ground. You’ve been warned.

Well, the bubble has burst. Tyler is no longer super excited about school. It only took 4 days. The bubble seemed to be leaking a bit on day 3, but it had a full blown blow-out on day 4 (today). I guess it would be more accurate to say that he is still excited about learning and all the different activities at school, he just isn’t excited about the kid who has decided to pick on him.

When Tyler came home on Friday, he complained about a kid who hit him in the head and pushed him out of line while they were walking down the hall. Today the same kid purposefully hit Tyler in the face (with his fist) while lining up after recess this afternoon. Unfortunately this kid also sits right next to Tyler in class and likes to poke him, too.

From what Tyler has said, I have the impression that his teacher is tired of listening to him tattle and isn’t listening to his serious complaints. (According to Tyler, he raised his hand to tell his teacher the boy across from him stuck his tongue out at him. His teacher told Tyler she didn’t want to hear about what anyone else was doing to him.) I can understand her frustration at having to deal with all the trivial issues, but these are new kindergarteners who are still learning how to appropriately deal with their issues. I hope she’s being patient. (I have told Tyler he needs to just ignore the other kids when they’re making faces or rude comments.)

I understand that I’m only hearing one side of the story and Tyler may very well be causing trouble of his own; however, I don’t think Tyler has done anything physical to anyone and I am concerned about the aggression from the other kid. I emailed Tyler’s teacher tonight to make her aware of the situation and to find out how we can resolve it before Tyler starts dreading school. Hopefully she’ll respond quickly. Tyler has school tomorrow, too.

Honestly I was at a loss for how to best respond to Tyler tonight. This very reason is why sending your child off to kindergarten is so hard in the first place – They are no longer sheltered and protected from the harsh reality of life and those living it. While putting each of the kids to bed tonight, I suggested we also pray for the kids that were bullying them when we said our bedtime prayers. I explained that the Bible says we’re supposed to pray for our enemies, those who don’t like us. Danielle thought it was a good idea (btw, the little boy didn’t bother her today). Tyler wasn’t sold. I tried to explain to Tyler that maybe this boy is picking on him because he’s sad or unhappy and if we pray for him, in addition to helping our attitude, maybe God will help him, too. Tyler looked amused. He shook his head and said, “He’s not unhappy. He had on a happy face when he was picking on me.” Sadly, it was kind of funny. I kissed his head and we prayed anyway. What more can I do?