An update on Christian

I haven't done an update on the kids in a while, so I thought I would talk about each child individually in the next few posts and describe what they are doing in their normal day to day lives. Christian has grown into such a great boy. At 10 years old he is uber responsible, helpful, creative, and excelling in the things he puts his mind to.

School this year has been such a wonderful experience so far for Christian. At the end of last year, we found out that the advanced program (CAS) was splitting into two different schools so that more kids could be involved. We were worried about how this would affect him, as he was one of the kids required to change schools and teachers. Luckily, everything has worked out wonderfully. His new school is wonderful, and his teacher is full of energy and enthusiasm for teaching/learning. She is a remarkable lady that really knows how to push these kids. The year got off to a great start when Christian learned that his classroom was going to be centered around Harry Potter. What more could he ask for? All of the students were divided into houses where they earn points for good behavior and lose them for poor behavior. The entire class also earns points toward special incentives. When they reached their first 100 points, they all got to make wands. Their class also got to dress up for "Colonial Day," write their own Halloween inspired narrative, memorize poems to give to the class, and make their own paper maché globe to show the routes of the early European explorers. It has been a real treat to watch how excited the kids are about doing well.

I have gotten the chance to volunteer with his class several times. Mom H. watches Hyrum for me, and I get to spend an hour or two helping the students. When Ms. Metz found out that I had written a book, she got really excited and asked if I wouldn't mind sharing some of my stories with the class. They were working on personal narratives at the time, which is exactly what my book, Farmyard Vignettes, is full of. I chose a couple of stories to share and then came up with short writing lessons that went with each story. Over the next three weeks, we went through all of them. It was so much fun for me. I love teaching. There is such an amazing feeling that comes when you see children finally grasp what you are trying to help them learn. The kids in Christian's class made me feel so good. They oohed and ahhhed over my stories. They gasped and laughed at all the right places, and made me feel like a successful writer. Christian's teacher was also so nice. She thanked me over and over and told me how much the kids were loving it and implementing what I was teaching into their writing. It was such a positive experience for me, and I am grateful for people who build others up and make them feel special. I am looking forward to many more visits to his classroom as the year goes on. Christian even acts like he likes having me there. I love seeing him in his normal daily environment and am so pleased that he behaves so well, is kind to the other kids, and acts respectfully to his teacher.

At the beginning of October, Christian signed up to participate in the Make and Share Fair. It was a small event held by his school as a fundraiser. The students got to sign up to bring a project to share with others. It could be anything... a drawing, a craft, cupcakes, sewing projects, etc. It cost $1 to get in to see all of the projects, and all the money raised went to the PTA. I sometimes (usually) get annoyed with Christian's constant inventing. He is constantly raiding the trash for things he can use in his projects. He spends hours and hours creating things in the garage. It wouldn't be so bad, but his area is always a mess with rusty metal, cardboard boxes, bits of rope, etc. and I never can find a pair of scissors or a roll of tape when I need them. Gah! It drives my OCD self crazy. And then he comes up with these crazy projects that are highly unrealistic for him to actually do. (For example: As of this moment, he is trying to build a computer out of metal, wood, and wires). At some point all of his creativity is going to pay off big time, but right now I just have to figure out how to encourage him without going crazy myself. But I digress... back to the Make and Share Fair. Christian's idea was to build a chair that gave a back massage and lotioned your feet. He even begged me to buy him a chair. Haha! It sounds lovely, but was clearly impossible for a 10 year old to do in one week. I finally convinced him to change projects, and he created a wonderful program on Scratch (a website that teaches block computer programming to kids). He programmed several balls to glide around the screen. Each ball correlated to a musical note. When two balls collided it created a chord that played. It was a tough bit of programming, and the effects and sounds were mesmerizing. I was super proud of him for being part of the fair and for working hard. It was nice to attend an event done completely by the kids with no parent intervention. There were cute drawings, homemade desserts, and lego creations. It wasn't a contest, and just celebrated the creative spirit of the kids.

Christian is also working hard in Cub Scouts to get everything done that he needs to pass off. He enjoys scouts, but I still have to do my fair share of pushing him to get things finished. In all honesty, Christian is so busy with homework and piano, that Scouts sometimes gets pushed to the back. I don't always help the situation because I sometimes have a bad attitude about Scouts (In my opinion, it started out as a great program, but now it is so expensive to implement and is missing the mark a bit for this new generation). Working on it together is a good thing for both of us to help change our attitudes for the better.  One thing we have done to make it easier to support is to make scouting a family thing. We go on the hikes together, attend the Pack Meetings together, and have done several of the adventures during Family Home Evening. In July, Christian earned his Bear award and moved up to Webelos. He also won $20 for being the Cub Scout wearing the most complete uniform. $20! We couldn't believe it. Christian was delighted and couldn't stop grinning. He immediately spent his "fun money" portion on a new Pokemon tin he has been saving for during the last couple of months.

Christian is getting to be a good piano player and is finally at the point where he knows enough to sit down and try to learn some songs just for fun. He played the Star Wars theme song for his first piano recital and did wonderfully. He is also starting to learn some simplified hymns, which is the main point of me insisting my kids learn the piano.  I hope that he starts liking it even more as he gets better. 

When he is not doing homework or practicing the piano, he is playing with friends. He has some good friends just two doors down, and loves to spend time with them. The McDougals have boys Christian's age, Andrew's age, and two more on both sides of Hyrum. I feel so blessed that my kids have found such good friends here. Of any kids around that they could be friends with, the McDougal's are the one that I would pick for my kids. I feel safe knowing that the boys are at their house, and know that they will be good influences on each other. Every day after school, they finish their chores as fast as possible so they can go scooter, play Pokemon, etc. with their friends. It all worked out perfectly.

Overall, Christian is a fairly easy kid to parent. He has a strong sense of right and wrong, and mostly makes good decisions. He is going through the typical 10 year old boy phase of having to learn to control his anger, but I'm sure he will outgrow that...  eventually. It mostly consists of yelling at his brothers for bugging him, being too aggressive at times and hurting Andrew, and getting frustrated when things aren't done fairly. He is learning how to take a time out to cool off, but there are times when we have to send him to his room because he is just too angry to be in control. I very distinctly remember my brothers at this age, and they were very much the same.  

Overall, Christian seems to be doing well and making progress in all areas of his life. I am grateful for Christian and the good big brother and child he is.