What? He is SO a good boy!

I saw Elijah's teacher today and I was sort of nervous about it because he isn't like the other boys, he is more like the OTHER boys, the Dan and Jordan type, delicious and funny and not a bit interested in anything scholastic, unless playtime and lunch count as scholarly, which they don't.
Eli gives us details reports on whose name gets on the naughty board, he lets us know who played when they should have been listening quietly, he knows the names of every ne'er do well in year one and can point out a naughty kid from 50 feet away.
I found out how he knows all the details today, it appears that the naughty kids? Those ones we all tut over in the playground.....THOSE kids...they're all on Elijah's payroll! Really, I got me one of those naughty kids and I didn't have to do anything! He worked it out all on his own! He has a whole plan it seems....he plays the cute card! He does just enough to fool the teacher, then he flashes his goofy teeth and opens those huge brown eyes and he does the 'look how cute I am' face.
Oh dear.
He is lazy ( and he's 5! that's almost an achievement in itself isn't it?) How many lazy 5 year olds do you know? Quite. Not many. Most 5 year olds are thrilled to impress, Eli could care less.
She said that she often has to stand and wait for him to notice that he is holding up the class. Ouch.
I am so used to hearing "he is amazing/ clever/ so ahead/ stunning us with his brilliance" etc that I found myself saying "Great!" and " yeay!" when she said things like " he really doesn't listen well, does he?!" I am so glad she knows me from when Isaac was on her class because if we had just met, she would certainly think I am a complete idiot and give up on Eli because...well what hope does he have when his mother says FABULOUS at being told she has a delinquent on her hands.
Actually I think ( read hope) that I am making more of this that actually is true, she said that he needs reminding often to complete his work and that he is easily distracted...but he's FIVE...isn't he meant to be easily distracted at 5?
I've never had a 'normal' 5 year old, what do they do? I've had one that charmed the birds of the trees at 5 and laid complex traps for would be bad men who might break in and kill him during the night, one that had to sit in the middle of the room so he could stand on his head and pick imaginary pieces of fluff from carpets because he was so stunted at 2 and 3 that he didn't get to do any of that and needed to behave like a 2 year old when he was 5, I had one 5 year old that had up to 30 seizures a day and every time she had a seizure she would forget what she had been doing and so it took her 5 times longer to learn the basics, she would head butt anyone in her way and would smash things in frustration because her mind was so smart but was being hammered by so many seizures.
I had one 5 year old who could read encyclopedias and REMEMBER every detail of what he reads. Then I had Isaac who was trapped in his own little 5 year old world where he was so scared it was hard for him to even walk through the school gates.
And now I have this 5 year old, this glorious boy who is unafraid of anything, who finds joy in everything. He jumps, leaps, runs, climbs. He shouts, sings, dances, he is feisty and gentle, he hugs and fights, he loves boy things and is less interested in girls things, I never thought he would lose interest in High school musical, but he has. He is all about Ben 10 and fighting monsters now, it was raining this morning and I brought him his HSM jacket with the pink guitar on the back and his face was a picture as he said " Oh....um...but people might actually SEE me wearing it and do you know it's really for girls?" A little piece of me wept because he is growing up ( and that jacket is going nowhere because when he is 20 and all hairy legged and gruff voiced, I will hug it and remember when he strode down the road with such pride with it on his back!)
He can still be overcome by a pair of high heels but I am pretty sure that will quickly pass also.
I am not going to worry about his schooling, he is who he is, we will encourage him to listen and behave, try and do his best but I will never try and change who this little boy is, because frankly, he's just about as perfect as he can possibly be.


( yes, he IS in the bin, the recycling bin, why? Where do your kids go to play?)




Yes Mrs teacher, learn his name....you'll be using it often!


Look! He multi tasks!

Oh but would you look at those eyes? He is divine.