Nurturing Her

This is my daughter...
She is sweet, sassy, smart and social but the thing to remember about her is that she is only SEVEN! She is a well rounded little lady and doesn't meet a stranger but don't worry, if you are a stranger it won't be that way for long. In fact, sometimes she will tell you things that will make her mommy a little red in the face. She has a lot of energy and this creative mind that totally reminds me of Me as a child....heck, it reminds me of Me now! She doesn't get nervous. She can stand up in front of any amount of people, sing a song and wonder what the big deal is about. She gets her feelings hurt easy but is the most resilient person I have ever met in my life. She may be upset about something one second but is just fine the next.

Something that I have been working on lately is nurturing her. There are those times that I just want a little peace and quiet when Tegan is napping or in bed...those are the times she can't seem to stop talking. I am learning to let her talk and to hear her ideas about whatever her little mind comes up with. I have started to think that by telling her to calm down and stop talking so much, we are pushing her down or crushing her spirit.

This leads me to my real reason for this post. Last year my daughter had this amazing teacher at school. Actually her and her para pro were both great and they nurtured her and knew exactly how to handle a kid with as much energy and ideas as she has. This year....we haven't been nearly as lucky. Don't get me wrong, her teacher seems like this really cool and awesome person but recently Rylee has been getting in to trouble EVERY SINGLE DAY at school. I know that at least 50% of the time she probably is doing something to get in to trouble and up until today we have been punishing her over and over again by taking away privileges and making her do chores. But today was different, I sat down and talked to her and she talked about how if someone else is talking to or with her she is the only one to get in to trouble. She feels that she is a target and she says that her teacher never lets her explain what is going on and if she does let her, she tells Rylee that she is telling a lie and she is in trouble all over again. At first I was furious at Rylee when I heard that she had told her teacher a lie or two but then as I started to pay more attention and probe her for more answers I find out that she maybe isn't even getting to tell her side of the story but yet someone is telling my SEVEN year old daughter that she is a liar. I know being a teacher can be frustrating but isn't part of the job to nurture a child and to be that teacher that you hope they will think back on and talk about how that teacher inspired them?? My husband always says that a child will become what you tell them they are so thank you her first grade teacher for telling her that she is a liar.

Needless to say, we will be thrilled when this school year ends in 2 1/2 very long weeks and next year I promise to listen to Rylee when she tries to tell us that maybe it isn't all her. I won't be the one that crushes her spirit but be the one that advocates for her .