The Art of Lion Taming: Back 2 School Night and a Fight!

My SIL KC had an interesting story to share when I came home from work on Wednesday, 9/15. KC's best friend's little brother (did you get that?) in in the same class as Kevin. Apparently, her best friend's mom saw Kevin get socked in the nose during the morning line-up, and Kevin did nothing. He started to tear, but he didn't tell the teacher. KC's best friends mom was concerned. The Mom immediately called KC so she could tell me about it when I got home. Needless to say, I was pissed off.

Kevin has had trouble with this boy "G" before. When they were in Kindergarten, G tried to kiss him. Kevin responded by grabbing a Lego box lid and tried to hit him with it. (They both got in trouble for the incident.) Kev and G went to childcare together, but they didn't have the same class. This is the first year that Kevin has a class with G.

When I asked Kev why he didn't fight back, he said that he didn't want to "get in trouble". So, I explained the difference between self-defense and being a bully. Even though this may have been a poor parenting decision on my part, I told Kev that IF he were to get in trouble at school for fighting back, he would NOT get in trouble with me. I shared some stories with him about my past experiences with elementary school bullies and "mean girls" from junior high. And, I summed it up by saying, "If you don't fight back, people are going to always mess with you. So, stick up for yourself. You are a lion, and lions defend their pride. "

If you know Kevin in real life, then you'll understand that he simply is NOT "bully material." With that being said, our conversation shouldn't have a negative effect on his citizenship at school. The KID is all dimples and smiles! The fact of the matter is, I just want him to be strong. I don't want him to be like I was... er...am. He needs to be able to stick up for himself when people mess with him. I didn't realize that our pep talk would kick in so soon...

When I came home from work the next day (9/16/10) Kevin told me that he was sent to the Principal's office for fighting. Apparently, G started to hit him again so Kevin fought back. They got into a tussle and Kev bit G. I stayed true to my word and didn't get mad. I told him that I was proud that he stuck up for himself, but that he shouldn't bite. And that was that. Kevin didn't get detention or even a note sent home about the incident. I thought it was odd that the Principal and Ms. H didn't call me or John to let us know about the fight, but Thursday 9/16 also so happened Kevie & Boo's Back 2 School/Open House Night. So, I figured I'd speak to her about it then.

I'll come back to that later...

Let me start off by saying that I'm absolute LOVE with both of their teachers. Boo was lucky enough to get Mrs. C (Kevie's teacher in Kinder & my old friend from high school) and Kevie was assigned to Ms. H. I know Mrs. C very well, but I never had the opportunity to really meet Ms. H because John drops the boys off to school in the morning. Mrs. Crabby (from last year) was awful (she yelled at the kids), and I was afraid that Kev would have another mean teacher this year. I discovered very quickly that Ms. H was wonderful teacher -- I witnessed an old student of hers come into the room just to give her a hug. :)

Our visit to Mrs. C's class revealed some very interesting information about Boo. Evidently, Anthony can read just as well as Kevin can. Mrs. C made a comment about how he was one of the few kids in class that could read the daily schedule! When we read together, Boo quietly listens to the story. He tends to stay quiet when I ask him to sound out words, too. He's more of a spectator than participator so I suppose it was easy for him to hide his secret. We never pressure the kids to do anything they don't want to. When I asked Boo why he never told me that he could read, he responded with a huge grin, a shrug and said, "I was nervous!"

Now back to Ms. H...

We witnessed the "hug-fest" shortly after John and I walked in the class. Afterward, Ms. H approached us immediately and asked to take a family picture. Kev scampered off with Boo to show him around the classroom while John and I spoke with Ms. H. She went over the new language book and marveled at how well Kevin could read. She also praised him for his math skills and genuine interest in art. Mrs. H told us that Kevin draws comics for her and leaves them on her desk so she could read them at lunch. She also mentioned how protective he was when saw Kev introduce Boo to his friends. Sweet kid, huh?

When I mentioned the fight, Ms. H shook her head and acknowledged that G admitted that he had been bothering Kevin for the last few weeks. So, the fight wasn't Kevin's fault. That's why she didn't call us to let us know about it. Mrs. H said she moved Kevin and also agreed to keep an eye out for the older kids during recess. She stooped down to eye-level with Kevin and asked him to let her know if any of the older kids were messing with him. She reminded Kev that if she didn't know about the issue, then she wouldn't be able to help him. All in all, I felt pretty good about Ms. H and her action plan. She's a wonderful teacher and we feel so blessed that Kevin was assigned to her class. :)

Here are a few pics from Back 2 School Night. Enjoy!

Boo's Self-Portrait. So super cute, huh?!