Firsts

Reed’s first trip to the dentist.  We read books, talked about it a lot and practiced, for his “happy visit”.  He was all smiles when it was C’s turn.

When it was his turn, everything changed.  After halting my cleaning, however, and joining him, he did well.

First day of first grade AND homeschool

First time metamorphosing a caterpillar

First dance class

So…  here’s one that bothers me.  We attended a Crystal Bridges program, and Charley filled out this worksheet.  See how she answered this question?  Rod and I have talked about how we say MUCH to often how “smart” Charley is…  perhaps at the expense of pointing out other qualities.  I’ve read many articles on how this type of praise can actually be negative (the psychology behind it is sound), and it places unfair expectations on the child (they begin to worry they aren’t perfect, or if they do fail, that they are disappointing parents who have always identified them this way).  We’ve been making more of an effort to point out specific things she does rather than the generic praise of how smart she is.  So, it was disheartening to see that, of all the qualities she could have chose to represent herself, the one she most identified with was “smart”. 

Hiking Van Winkle Hollow