Guess what I did today, Mom? - Tyler

"I signed the 100s chart!!!!!"

Last week we had parent/teacher conferences and one thing his teacher said he needed to work on was counting to 100. He only got to 39. I knew that was something he had been struggling with, but I didn't know how to help him besides just practicing everyday, which he got tired of doing because he just couldn't remember what comes after the "9" numbers (39, 49, 59, etc). I tried telling him to remember the "10s" numbers come after the "9" numbers, but he couldn't get it. So finally we thought about having him put his fingers up every time he reached a "10" number. One finger for 10, 2 fingers for 20, etc. After a few tries he did it! Last night Morgan fell asleep at 5:30 (5 minutes before dinner of course!) b/c she didn't get a nap and when Harrison wen down for bed it was just Tyler and me since Kent was at Scouts. Anyway, he was actually EXCITED to practice counting to 100 once he realized he could and he kept asking me if he could do it. Of course he could! :) He told me that during free time the next day he was going to show Mrs. Peterson (his teacher) that he could now count to 100 without any help. I had forgotten about it and when he got in the van after school he was super excited and yelled "Guess what I did today, Mom?!" I just guessed and asked if he got a treat today and he said "NO! I signed the 100s chart!" He was so proud of himself and very happy. I know he felt like he had accomplished something he used to think was very difficult. When I talked to his teacher during the conference I told her he was kind of a perfectionist, and she said "no, very much so a perfectionist." He is a worry-wort and wants things to be done right the first time, or else he doesn't want to try in case he fails. He asks simple questions that he knows the answer to, so she asks him what HE thinks and he usually gets it right. He just needs to get a little more self confidence. She said he is the typical first child. But he doing great in all the other areas, especially letter/sound recognition and she said he has wonderful behavior and is so kind. All in all I already knew pretty much everything we talked about (except specific scores on certain testings). He's doing great and gets excited to be at school, even if he says he doesn't like it every once in a while. :) I think it's the getting up early part he doesn't like!