Cade's Big Weekend

Going to preschool with Cade was a blast. What I loved most about my time with him was being able to just sit and play without any other distractions. At home I can hardly focus on one thing at a time with the phone ringing, laundry going in or coming out, dishes going in or coming out, and needing to referee the toys between Savvy and Cade. I completely enjoyed myself getting lost in the world of trains and cars (do you really think he would pick anything else to play with?)
I also had the opportunity to interact with each of the children, two at a time. We played a matching game with shapes and colors. It was fun watching the strengths of each of the children come out in different ways. One girl was really social and good at helping her classmates feel included. Another girl took special care in paying attention and putting her game piece perfectly in its spot. A little boy was great at keeping the game "intense" and exciting with his dramatic expressions. Another little boy was a great observer. Interestingly enough, they were all pretty much on the same level. A few times they got their colors mixed up. Many times the kids called the "rhombus" a "diamond" or they got the oval mixed up with the circle. But they all "got it." It was pretty interesting. No one was leaps and bounds ahead of the crowd. (though a simple matching game probably isn't the most tell-tale indicator of intelligence.)

Above all, I was most impressed with his teachers. They are amazing. These two women defied ALL odds by maintaining the same soft, sweet (sometimes stern depending on the situation) tone no matter what was happening, and how many times it happened. The class has a lot of boys, so it doesn't take much imagination to dream up scenarios that would leave any teacher wanting to pull out her hair. But they were incredible. And I know it wasn't just because I was there. These women are the greatest teachers-- not because the kids are learning their shapes and how to sit down in a circle quietly. Because they taught me it really is humanly possible to discipline a child without getting emotional.

My favorite part of the morning (aside from snack time because it was Lily's birthday and her mom brought heart-shaped cookies!) occurred when all of the kids sat in a circle and listened to the teacher read from a notebook about one of the kids' adventures with Clifford. Each Thursday a child is randomly selected to bring home Clifford, a little stuffed dog, for the weekend. The parents record the child's experiences in the child's own words and then send him back to school on Tuesday. Well, after we read about Lily's weekend with Clifford guess who's name was drawn? None other than Cade!!!! I was bursting with excitement for my little boy, I have to admit I quietly shed a tear as I watched him walk to the head of the circle to pick up his weekend pal.

Also this weekend Cade gave his very first talk in Primary. I have to give complete props to Dad on this one, because I had absolutely no involvement besides mentioning to Cade throughout the week, "Aren't you excited you get to give a Talk in Primary?!" Dad did what men do best, which is a lesson in and of itself (for me anyway). He simplified. No cutesy colored and laminated pictures. No props. He chose a scripture and practiced it with Cade, and then a little blurb explaining it's importance. He even presented Cade with his very own mini set of scriptures, complete with a carrying case. Cade was beyond thrilled and sat the most reverently he has ever sat in sacrament meeting that Sunday. He kept zipping and unzipping his case and "reading" from his little scriptures. He was so proud. He kept asking his friend behind us if he brought his scriptures. Finally sacrament was over and it was time to go to Primary. After the opening prayer, Cade ran up to the podium, only to be turned away because the scripture was next. At last was his turn and he marched to the podium and looked up at his audience with a big grin. Dad whispered in his ears about two words at a time and Cade did a great job, speaking loud and clear into the microphone (yelling just about). I was pleasantly surprised because I was half-expecting him to clam up and refuse to speak. The stars were aligned and he spoke on command.

When we sat down together as a family later for family scripture reading, Cade kept wanting to give his scripture that he shared (Alma 34:32--scripture mastery) and he wanted the rest of us to recite it, too, along with the rest of his talk. So that's what we've been "reading" the last two nights with him. It's endearing watching him express an interest in memorizing scriptures. We've decided to go with it. We don't know how long we have before he decides he doesn't want to do it anymore!