This morning as I walked Leo into the school playground, he stayed that little bit closer to my side. He saw the other children playing a game of chase, but he stayed at my heel, staring out over the playground glassy eyed as he watched his classmates running around.
I got down to his level, I asked him what was wrong, why didn't he want to go and play with the other children? He told me that one of the boys doesn't like him, and he never lets him play. Right then and there, this broke me. This one child in particular seems to pick Leo up and drop him just as quick, on the days that the child in question has been nice to Leo, his smile couldn't be any bigger, but the majority of the time, Leo is singled out by this one particular little boy.
It was just earlier this week that Leo came home from school and asked me about his freckles. He has a beautiful array of freckles all over his nose and just under his eyes. Just like myself and his Dad. He asked me why this child didn't like them, and went on to explain that he wasn't allowed to play the game, because of his freckles. I sat Leo down and told him just how beautiful his freckles were, and that only really beautiful people are bestowed with them, and this seemed to put a smile back on his face.
Leo finds school hard, just like I told you here. I would hate to think that he was struggling with the social aspects of school as well. He always seems to have friends and plenty of people to play with, and I am told that he is always active at playtime. What I don't want is any child to start knocking his confidence, I don't want anyone to make Leo feel inferior and to make him doubt himself.
I am always looking for new ways in which I can help Leo in all walks of his life, whether it's encouraging him to give new things a try, or helping him unlock his mind, and open himself up to new challenges that might present themselves, and I know that I am incredibly lucky to have such a kind and caring individual in my care.
Since we moved out over last Summer, I have been sourcing many at home teaching aids so that I can help Leo catch up and become more confident in his studies, and therefore more confident at school with his peers. We got some early years books for Leo to work through at home, and I even made sure that Leo's new high rise bed had a desk, so that we can sit down and work through everything together.
While I was sourcing ideas for Leo's room, I came across Teacher Boards which had an incredible selection of products right up our street. What I have been thinking about doing is getting my hands on some Ideapaint, which is essentially paint for your walls, that turns the finished creation into a dry wipe whiteboard!
We currently have a small art easel that has a white board and a chalkboard, but how much more amazing would it be to have a much larger space to practice Leo's letters and numbers, and start putting memory to the test with simple spellings!
I love hearing that people can see change in Leo this year, that they can see he is making progress, but as important as education is, I care less about how Leo performs against other children, and more about how kind and considerate he is about other peoples, and other children's feelings.
Leo is the kind of kid who will think about how words and actions make somebody else feel, and he has often come home and told me about how certain children have said things to other's that has made them feel sad, and he knows that things like that shouldn't happen. He knows right from wrong.
I hope that Leo realises that he is an incredible little human, and I hope that he doesn't let silly little boys dull his sparkle.
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