Report Card Day -

I used to get really emotional on every single report card day. Okay - I cried my eyes out. I “knew” grades don’t really matter. In life - as an adult - who CARES if you got a C- in 3rd grade spelling??? But for some reason it always felt like that list of grades was a representation of my child’s inadequacies and struggles. And also of my own imperfections in helping her grow. It was devastating every time.

If that is where you are - I want to give you hope. It gets better. It really does. You will start to see the progress. Maybe it will be slow - and maybe it will take a while. But it does happen.

All of the different learning strategies we have tried… they are starting to pay off. I cried over this report card too - because she got an A in Math. An A! Do I really care about the grade itself? - not really. But I am THRILLED that she is finding a subject that used to cause so much anguish “easy” and “fun”. Last week she asked if she “could do math” after reading for “fun”. Are you kidding? If that is what you want, absolutely! Yes this is an extreme example of progress but we celebrate every little step on this journey. A 74 on that social studies test? Great job! You improved from last time! Look at this sentence you wrote, you have all the punctuation!!! Every milestone.

Encouraging your children often comes naturally. But remember to encourage yourselves too. They will get there and we are learning together what works.

Stay positive and as Dory says ‘just keep swimming.’ We’re in this together, and we will get there!