Leighton is a passionate little girl. She plays hard, loves hard and fights hard. When she does something she does it with her whole heart. Last month I was talking to her teacher and learned she has been having some trouble "pushing" her friends during playtime and has spent some time in timeout lately. My heart sunk. My little Leighton, the bully and the rebel. We started talking with her ALL THE TIME about keeping her hands to herself and telling her teachers when she was upset. Using her words more is a big theme around our house.
I wasn't really sure what was going to be said at her conference. Her teacher always lets me know when she sits in time out and last week she had a particularly "rough" day with lots of pushing and a timeout. Toby always tries to assure me that she's only two and all two year olds are a little rough. Sometimes it helps but most times I am still worrying inside. I don't want her to act out at school. Is she not getting enough attention at home? Is she finally having some resentment about having Gracen? Are her language skills lagging? The worries just circle around in my head.
We walked in and saw her teacher and the first thing she said was "Leighton is the sweetest little gal." We talked about all the goals for her this year and she is meeting or exceeding all of them. I could feel my blood pressure returning to normal. She is still learning to share but has become more vocal when upset (which we want instead of using her frustration to push). She told me she thinks her language is right on par for her age. This was nice to hear since I have no idea what is typical for this age. I feel like she speaks well and uses words often but I don't really have anything or anyone to compare her to. Sometimes I feel like Toby and I are the only ones who can understand her so it was nice to know her teacher sees her speaking more.
She did say that Leighton is a role model during clean up time but is sometimes a little pushy when encouraging her friends to clean up too. That sounds like typical Leighton Layne. She likes to follow directions and wants everyone else to follow them as well. Leighton is very patient at snack time and pays close attention during circle time. Her teacher says she can tell she is soaking it all in, sometimes eager to sing the songs and participate and other times fine to just sit and observe. It all depends on her mood. Sometimes she's our little comedian and other times just plain stone cold serious Lei :)
Toby and I have been so thankful for Leighton's school experience and it was reassuring to hear that she is doing great. We've decided to put her in three days a week in the fall and can't wait to see how much more she learns the rest of the school year. It has also been a lesson for me as a mama. I need to relax. I need to relax A LOT. She's going to get in trouble, she is not always going to be perfect and that's just part of growing up and learning. As long as she is healthy and happy, being the sweetest little gal is just a cherry on top :)
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