Mean is Not Important!

Ryan told me he would rather read stories then do puzzles at school so.. I got a new book Core Curriculum third grade level to read! The book has a bunch of new stories!!!

So I asked him what do you want to do? .. Just to let you know.. the flow and structure of our teaching time has changed to a more relaxed and much more enjoyable experience. It's because I feel more confident. I have improved at doing RPM so hooray... two and a half years it took....but that is OK... it is a skill that has to be developed and each new phase he goes through I had to learn.. so ..Its all Good!

So.. skipping lots of details to get to the really cool stuff........... Was reading the story,
" The People could Fly". Quickly realized.........this was not about a fun topic but about slavery! So the story talks about an overseer who has a whip ..( I know I am thinking..what have I gotten myself into here!!) It shares that the slaves picking cotton had a magic word and when the overseer was about to be mean to them they could fly into the air like eagles. It shares how the entire group found freedom lifted their wings and flew away back to their home in Africa.

So, after this story I am thinking..well lets discuss what "mean" is and let's see if he has a clear understanding.. hmm .. starting to begin testing him A HUGE NO NO NO NO... AND then I said to Ryan...what do you think is "mean".... and he put me in my place...

Ryan spelled out: MEAN IS NOT IMPORTANT.

Wow.. how mature is that....

I said.......yeah your right....who really wants to talk about that anyways!! and he said:

I THINK I ENJOY MOST STORIES THAT ARE NOT NEGATIVE.

Yep, he was NOT going where Mom wanted to go. He very wisely kept the conversation on a more mature focus. He was beyond that ... WOW.. his ability to think, reason and motor plan at the same time is really growing this last month.