School time...

Next week I begin school with my youngest. I will get 2 weeks of alone time with him while his brothers are at camp. Two weeks we desperately need to get the school year off with a bang. At least get it off with the least resistance. My youngest is extremely bull headed. He is so much like my mother it drives me crazy. Even if his life depends on it he won't budge. He stands his ground even if he is in the wrong. He is hard to please as well. This type of person is a challenge to teach. Add on to the fact that he loves ruts. He hates to change his routine. I need those two weeks to mold him without interference of mouthy brothers that are as irritated as I, but less patient. I've been working on this for about 2 months. I give him clues and hints, then I work it up to facts that he will face. Then I bring in the subtle changes. I first started with an online school site to practice with and then I bought educational iPad games. I wanted my son to read but he was very reluctant so I found an app that reads the ebooks to him. Now I have him reading a chapter book to me everyday. He reads his book, then listens to his book while he looks at the words, he listens to an actual audio book, he plays his iPad educational games, and he does the online school site, plus we listen to books in the car. Our geography puzzles have arrived and tomorrow I will pull out the world one to have him complete it with me. Bit by bit I have gotten him engaged and he doesn't throw his typical temper tantrum too much. He also knows the gaming will stop too. I've gotten him hooked on the A-Team and he is only allowed to watch it while walking or jogging on the treadmill. He can't get off until the show is over. He gets exercise, win for me, and he gets his show, win for him. 

He loves games so much he plays them without even knowing it. He is completely unaware of this trait. You want him to do something he has to be manipulated into doing it. He will not do something otherwise. I've never met someone like him. Hmmm, maybe I do. Come to think of it, his father...

I'm sure some will say I'm stubborn. Yes, I am, but not this stubborn. I've had my hands full with this one since birth. He was wiggly, hard to nurse, busy, unfocused, screamed a lot. Always in trouble by squeezing out all the toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner. He would eat toothpaste, drink strangers drinks, dig in public trash cans and eat gum, he peed on his bed when angry with me, he drew on the walls... The list is infinite and incomplete. When I call him a pain in the ass that is an understatement.

I've been challenged from day one and he still is but now we can have conversations and it has gotten easier. Not easy just easier. I still have days where I'm at my wits end with that one. If he went to school he would be in a constant stream of detentions, visits to the principal, and in school suspensions. His mouth would get him into more trouble that anything. Next his unwillingness to participate. I know because he's been kicked out of theater camp because he ran away, art camp because he cried,  and I removed him from school because the teacher, I could tell, hated him. 

Thing is he is a super sweet kid when it seems like it is his idea, it seems fun, he likes the idea, or it's not a "learning experience." I hear how he talks to people online when he thinks I'm not listening. He is very very kind to them. He thanks them for their help. He tells them he thinks what they did was a great thing and gives positive and uplifting feed back. He is not the kid that yelled at me about how he hates "stupid libraries and books." 

I never knew how hard motherhood was. No one prepares you for it. It is like being thrown into the woods naked and alone and told to survive. I have so many survival skills its not even funny. Each boy has come with unique issues I've had to work through. BUT this one, my sweet and quiet non intrusive  little bubble and squeak, has been my biggest challenge of all. 

Motherhood is not for wimps. If you're a wimp better become a nun.