It was a
blessing this summer to be able to spend time with my oldest son as he prepared
to enter kindergarten. He also faced the addition of a new sibling in the house. In
past summers I have spent a large amount of time on the road coaching, but I
have been blessed now with a position that allows me to spend more time with
family at this important developmental stage. While Isaiah has done an
exemplary job accepting the big brother role, he has also started to challenge
authority, particularly with his mother, and that is something I want to
shut down before it becomes a regular habit and starts happening at school. Every day this summer, I would pick him up
from camp, and either take him to the pool so he could burn some energy or we
would go home and work on skills that would be useful in the classroom like
counting or reading. This kept him in
practice with school skills like having to sit still and focus on a task. He also got continued exposure to things he
had learned during the school year. Below
are a couple other examples of how my additional time with my son was helpful:
Taking responsibility: Little Man struggled during the
year with owning up to things that he did which he knew weren't right like not
putting his clothes away, or forgetting to flush the toilet. His teacher had observed the same thing in
school. This summer when he tried to claim "I didn't do it" he was
consistently held accountable. I explained how he could get in more trouble
for not owning up to his mistake than if he just apologized.
Controlling Emotions:
We wanted to move Little Man forward beyond crying when he did not get
his way. His teacher noted that he often
did this in school. This summer I pushed
him to use his words to explain why he was upset. I also
forced him not to whine when he wanted something. He is only five, but he looks to be seven or
eight, so we want his maturity to match what his teachers perceive when they
see him.
Bonding Activities: Little Man and I grew closer over the summer
because of the opportunities we had to do things together. He came to the pool with me to watch me coach,
and I answered all of his questions about what was going on. We also went to the movies together, and I
took him to his karate classes, which allowed me to give instant feedback on
what I saw.
Ultimately,
this summer gave me a multitude of opportunities to affirm my love, and support
of my oldest son at a time when he could easily think that there is less
attention available for him. The early
payoff is that he has started the school year very positively, and his teacher
has been impressed by his leadership and work ethic.
