Anxiety seems to be lessening. I picked the boy-child up last night after school. We did homework (hopefully all of it) and thankfully he didn’t protest too much when I told him I wanted him to be reading for 30 minutes every night. I found him one of my old paperbacks that I probably haven’t read since I was his age, but obviously liked it enough then to hang onto it all this time: It’s Like This, Cat. Since he just adores my two felines, and the main character struggles with some stuff at home, I thought he might enjoy it. I did catch a little chuckle from him while he was reading, so maybe I was right. I know not everyone will be a big reader, but I think here is much to be gained from reading, so I’m going to b a stickler for that one. Library card anyone?
After dinner–consisting mostly of rice for him since he was not a fan of the veggies in the stir-fry I made–we had some moments of, “well, now what do we do?” Originally I was supposed to take him back to his foster home for church, but they decided not to go, so we got extra time. I tried a puzzle, but it was too complicated and didn’t go over well. We spent a little time creating a marble track, but one creation was enough. I looked through my stash of leftover Discovery Toys games, and decided not to push my luck by making him play a math or fractions game (although maybe down the line, as those skills may need some bolstering). I didn’t have much else–note to self, find board games and easy puzzles!–so I decided a couple episodes of a tv show from Netflix would be good. Unfortunately, his interests didn’t seem to be jiving with what I thought was appropriate (no South Park, thankyouverymuch), so I was thrilled when he asked if they had The Muppet Show, since I have the first season on DVD.
A bowl of sherbet and two giggly episodes later, I brought him home. Yeah, I think we’ll be ok.
Some games that might be fun- Uno, Monopoly (works on math skills), and any of the Cranium games. You want to strike a balance with fun! These games usually go over really well with the kids I work with (who are a lot of foster care kids and kids from tough situations).
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I can’t imagine stepping into a situation like this, but it sounds like you’re doing a great job. Kids want boundaries and I think too many parents forget that. What do 11 year olds do all day when they live with their birth parents? I have no idea. 🙂
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