Yesterday was John's last day of school at Head Start. Last week I met with John's teacher to go over how the school year went and what to expect next school year when he returns to Head Start AND begins Pre-K at the local elementary school.
I was pleasantly surprised at what his teacher had to say about his progress throughout the school year. When John began the school year he was fairly aggressive and didn't communicate well with anyone. (He's still in speech therapy each week and has made enormous progress). John's first reaction to things he wasn't happy about was to scream and hit. He wasn't very good at sitting still when he was suppose to and often found himself in 'time out'.
As the year progressed John learned how to get along with his classmates, keep his hands to himself (even when he was mad) and sit still during lesson time. His teacher told me John had made the most improvement this year then any other child she's ever taught.
My heart swelled with pride for my son's accomplishments. It's been a very trying year with John working with him on how to behave properly and work well with others even if it's not something he necessarily wants to do (along with his teacher). I've noticed small positive changes in him as the school year went on and then, to hear from the teacher about how great he's done I was nearly brought to tears.
The Lord has really answered my prayer for John that he would adjust to school and learn how to work as a team player, control his anger and use his manners. He still had a bad day here and there when he didn't want to play nicely or sit still during lesson, but, overall, he made a complete 180 from the beginning of the school year. Teacher told me that by the end of the school year she found herself 'correcting' him more for kissing his classmates then hitting or being mean. I'm so proud of John and am looking forward to what next school year will bring for him.
