Bickmore Buzz March 2, 2020
It's March and I feel like a new woman! The weather has turned to spring-like weather and I want to pack up all my winter gear and store it away for good. I'm looking forward to being outdoors A LOT this year.
My sister Lana shared with me a podcast about the science of storytelling-- to share a moment(s) in your day rather than recounting everything that happened. So, I'd like to do that with this post.
William:
Today, I went to William's hockey game. The PE teacher at his school does something similar to intramural sports. 3rd grade does soccer, 4th grade does handball, and 5th grade does hockey. The classes play against each other. The students take turns playing different positions. I was so impressed with Will! In first grade, he played soccer for a season and it was tough. He had so much anxiety about the ball hitting his head (due to a traumatic experience of a kid throwing a rock at his head and cutting it open). It was painful as a parent to watch my child stand on the field and cower every time the ball came within 25 yards of him. Now, fast forward to 1st and 2nd quarter of fifth grade. Will was having anxiety attacks at school. He had a few visits to the nurse, particularly during lunch. He would get so much anxiety about the lunch room because the lunch aides are very strict. When they would begin to threaten the kids with taking away recess, Will would stress out. Isaac and I enrolled him with six counseling sessions to talk about his anxiety, which kind of helped, but the biggest help was Mrs. Shaw, the librarian.
A few weeks ago I saw Ms. Shaw at Spin Pizza. She's close to my age and I really enjoy talking with her. I mentioned to her how much Will enjoys her lunch group. She proceeded to tell me how it all started. One day she was walking past the nurse's office and she saw William eating his lunch in there. She asked him, "Why are you eating in here?" He said, "I don't like eating in the lunch room." Ms. Shaw thought to herself, "That is just wrong. No kid should be eating lunch alone." As she was telling me this she teared up and I did too. She continued, "So I invited him to come eat lunch with me and it became a thing. Pretty soon other kids caught on and asked if they could come too so now I have a group of about six kids eating with me. I really miss eating with the fifth grade team because I love our conversations, but it's okay. " I suggested maybe making lunch group an every other day thing so she can do both. She said she was thinking the same. I thanked her for caring for my son and going above and beyond for him. I was so touched.
So, back to today. After the hockey game, I went back to the classroom to wait for Will to collect his things. Mrs. Nigro, his classroom teacher, approached me and said, "I just want you to know how much I love William. He's smiling now, he doesn't seem as anxious. I think eating with Ms. Shaw has really helped." I told her how impressed I was with his performance at the game and how he didn't hesitate at all to get in there and hit the puck. She complimented Isaac and I as parents and expressed that when kids with struggles have supportive parents, it makes such a difference. I thanked her for that. Then we talked about how thankful we are for March. I said goodbye. On the way home, I suggested to William that he should write a thank you note to Mrs. Shaw.
Van:
I asked my boss how Van was doing in the play that she's directing. She said he loves to be center and has no problem making sure the audience can see him. :) I said, "Yup, that's Van!" He is loving being in this musical. I can't wait to see the performance at the end of the month.
On Saturday, during Van's rehearsal, William had some friends over. We gave them cash and told them to walk to Casey's and get a snack. I wanted them to venture out and do some of the things I did at that age. Anyway, when Van came home, he felt left out that he didn't get to go get a snack from Casey's. I told him we would go later.
It was a beautiful day so I went on a bike ride. I came home and noticed Van wasn't around. Isaac mentioned that he got on his bike to go with me. I said,"I never saw him during my ride. Are you sure he went on his bike?" That's when Van pulled up in the driveway on his bike wearing his bike helmet backwards. He shrugged, "I went to Casey's and bought a donut." I laughed, "What? Really? Where did you eat it?"
"Just outside of Casey's."
I was surprised and actually very proud that he felt confident enough to do that by himself!
Two days later the sister missionaries came over for dinner. Van performed several magic tricks and told them riddles. The sisters were laughing and saying things like, "He's so cute!" They did an activity with us where you think about what you love about the person on your right and then share the top one with everyone. I had Van. I told him, "I love and admire your confidence. You're willing to be yourself in front of others and do things alone like ride your bike to Casey's and buy a donut."
As a side note, Van told Isaac that he's the best dad because he likes to play his games when no one else does. Isaac told William that he loves how empathetic William is. He shared the time when Will was two years old and cried in the musical Honk Jr. when the ugly duckling was singing about loneliness. William shared that he loves that I help him try to be a better person.
Isaac:
Isaac rocked it last Friday. He planned a Tri-M summit for prospective music ed students. He received a lot of praise from his department chair and colleagues. He did a lot of hands on activities--sing alongs, drum circles, ukulele play alongs, etc. The students really enjoyed it!
Overheard at our house:
Van--"I was feeling lonely in the shower. Then I thought of the song, 'You Are My Sunshine' and it made me feel better."
Will is really into Memes. Currently, he's working on a team of superheroes called the Supremeties.
Will--"Mom, Politics is just corruption. That's why I don't like it."
My sister Lana shared with me a podcast about the science of storytelling-- to share a moment(s) in your day rather than recounting everything that happened. So, I'd like to do that with this post.
William:
Today, I went to William's hockey game. The PE teacher at his school does something similar to intramural sports. 3rd grade does soccer, 4th grade does handball, and 5th grade does hockey. The classes play against each other. The students take turns playing different positions. I was so impressed with Will! In first grade, he played soccer for a season and it was tough. He had so much anxiety about the ball hitting his head (due to a traumatic experience of a kid throwing a rock at his head and cutting it open). It was painful as a parent to watch my child stand on the field and cower every time the ball came within 25 yards of him. Now, fast forward to 1st and 2nd quarter of fifth grade. Will was having anxiety attacks at school. He had a few visits to the nurse, particularly during lunch. He would get so much anxiety about the lunch room because the lunch aides are very strict. When they would begin to threaten the kids with taking away recess, Will would stress out. Isaac and I enrolled him with six counseling sessions to talk about his anxiety, which kind of helped, but the biggest help was Mrs. Shaw, the librarian.
A few weeks ago I saw Ms. Shaw at Spin Pizza. She's close to my age and I really enjoy talking with her. I mentioned to her how much Will enjoys her lunch group. She proceeded to tell me how it all started. One day she was walking past the nurse's office and she saw William eating his lunch in there. She asked him, "Why are you eating in here?" He said, "I don't like eating in the lunch room." Ms. Shaw thought to herself, "That is just wrong. No kid should be eating lunch alone." As she was telling me this she teared up and I did too. She continued, "So I invited him to come eat lunch with me and it became a thing. Pretty soon other kids caught on and asked if they could come too so now I have a group of about six kids eating with me. I really miss eating with the fifth grade team because I love our conversations, but it's okay. " I suggested maybe making lunch group an every other day thing so she can do both. She said she was thinking the same. I thanked her for caring for my son and going above and beyond for him. I was so touched.
So, back to today. After the hockey game, I went back to the classroom to wait for Will to collect his things. Mrs. Nigro, his classroom teacher, approached me and said, "I just want you to know how much I love William. He's smiling now, he doesn't seem as anxious. I think eating with Ms. Shaw has really helped." I told her how impressed I was with his performance at the game and how he didn't hesitate at all to get in there and hit the puck. She complimented Isaac and I as parents and expressed that when kids with struggles have supportive parents, it makes such a difference. I thanked her for that. Then we talked about how thankful we are for March. I said goodbye. On the way home, I suggested to William that he should write a thank you note to Mrs. Shaw.
Van:
I asked my boss how Van was doing in the play that she's directing. She said he loves to be center and has no problem making sure the audience can see him. :) I said, "Yup, that's Van!" He is loving being in this musical. I can't wait to see the performance at the end of the month.
On Saturday, during Van's rehearsal, William had some friends over. We gave them cash and told them to walk to Casey's and get a snack. I wanted them to venture out and do some of the things I did at that age. Anyway, when Van came home, he felt left out that he didn't get to go get a snack from Casey's. I told him we would go later.
It was a beautiful day so I went on a bike ride. I came home and noticed Van wasn't around. Isaac mentioned that he got on his bike to go with me. I said,"I never saw him during my ride. Are you sure he went on his bike?" That's when Van pulled up in the driveway on his bike wearing his bike helmet backwards. He shrugged, "I went to Casey's and bought a donut." I laughed, "What? Really? Where did you eat it?"
"Just outside of Casey's."
I was surprised and actually very proud that he felt confident enough to do that by himself!
Two days later the sister missionaries came over for dinner. Van performed several magic tricks and told them riddles. The sisters were laughing and saying things like, "He's so cute!" They did an activity with us where you think about what you love about the person on your right and then share the top one with everyone. I had Van. I told him, "I love and admire your confidence. You're willing to be yourself in front of others and do things alone like ride your bike to Casey's and buy a donut."
As a side note, Van told Isaac that he's the best dad because he likes to play his games when no one else does. Isaac told William that he loves how empathetic William is. He shared the time when Will was two years old and cried in the musical Honk Jr. when the ugly duckling was singing about loneliness. William shared that he loves that I help him try to be a better person.
Isaac:
Isaac rocked it last Friday. He planned a Tri-M summit for prospective music ed students. He received a lot of praise from his department chair and colleagues. He did a lot of hands on activities--sing alongs, drum circles, ukulele play alongs, etc. The students really enjoyed it!
Overheard at our house:
Van--"I was feeling lonely in the shower. Then I thought of the song, 'You Are My Sunshine' and it made me feel better."
Will is really into Memes. Currently, he's working on a team of superheroes called the Supremeties.
Will--"Mom, Politics is just corruption. That's why I don't like it."
Comments