Thursday, December 4, 2008

A horse of a different color

It's been hard for me to get into the boys' school to help out, but today my mom was able to watch Charlie so I could be in Benny's class. From the beginning of the year I passed on to you what his teachers have been telling me: "Benny is so much like Louie!" (Translation: he's super quiet and shy.) I had to see it with mine own eyes.

It's true. I didn't even recognize our lovable little Tasmanian devil. He did exactly what the teachers told him: criss-cross apple sauce legs with hands in his lap; worked on his "secret" Christmas present for Mom & Dad; reading books quietly while others finished up their project; lined up when he had to; and passed out napkins when he had to help with snack time.

The only thing is that he barely said a word throughout. And when they did cute number exercises and the "Reindeer Hokey" he just stood there staring at his class. He wasn't alone, and on the playground Miss Sue said that it's pretty common for kids their age--especially boys--to just take it all in, rather than participate. Take for instance, the incredibly cute kid in his class, Sam. So sweet, but just watched. Didn't raise his hand to answer a question, or more commonly, call an answer out. (By the way, Samuel is one of the names at the top of my list. I'm still waiting for suggestions!!)

By the end of the day Benny had opened up and started saying more to his teachers and to me. Yes, he barely even recognized that I was there at the beginning! He was to introduce me and wouldn't crack open his mouth one iota. Obviously, he was getting more comfortable with me being there by the end. But honestly, if I don't have to worry about him being a wiseguy at school and just have to deal with his shenanigans at home, I'm OK with that. I figure that at home he is the green horse and at school he is the purple horse. Or something like that...

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