Week 1, Day 4
Today I went to work with the children again. Due to my own personal circumstances, I missed out on Tuesday and Wednesday.
I got pretty much the same reaction from the kids. Gloria seemed none-too-excited about seeing me, and neither was Violet or Cecilia. Mark's reaction actually surprised me a bit. He smiled really big, then ran away.
Gloria asked me why I'm there, and Violet asked why I came back. They were over at a friends house, I was actually surprised that I missed them enough that I was actually quite keen to see them again, consider the heck they've put me through the first week I was there.
Mark is still showing signs of reverse psychology. Today I told him to pick up the cup he threw on the ground, and he refused. When I told him to come inside because it was raining, he refused as well. Whatever I told him to do had the opposite effect, I'm trying to find a way to come up with a strategy to get him to say yes.
I would like to note here an incident that occurred today. He wanted a bottle (sad that a 3 yr. old still wants a bottle), and his mother told him that he was not going to get one unless he picked up the cup he threw on the ground (the same one I asked him to pick up from earlier).
He flat out refused, saying that he wanted a bottle, and no matter how many repetitions of "pick up the cup and I'll make you a bottle" he still refused to do so.
Another thing to note is that when he threw the cup on the floor, he did so in front of me. He finished eating whatever was inside, and came next to me, smiled broadly, and threw the cup on the ground. Then he grinned like a Cheshire cat when I told him to pick it up, as though expecting that kind of reaction, and responded with the usual, "no".
He also hit Cecilia today, and I think he also bit her, but when I looked at her hand, I couldn't see any real bite marks, though it could be he didn't bite so hard as to leave a mark.
I'm uncertain as to what prompted that reaction from him. I wasn't really paying much attention until I heard Cecilia cry. I have reason to believe that she irritated him in some way, but again, I'm not sure.
I was very firm with him, and reminded him of what I told him the last time I punished him, that we never hit/bite other people, we always go to an adult. He had eye contact while I said it, but I'm not sure if he understood completely what I was saying.
I didn't punish him like I normally would, because the last two times proved to be a failure. I'm going to have to try and come up with something a bit more creative to get the point across to him.
I've also noticed that for a three-year-old, he doesn't talk a lot, and when he does, he doesn't speak clearly. It could be he doesn't talk too much because I'm still somewhat of a stranger to him, but it could also be because he may need speech therapy.
I didn't get the chance to test out my theory about the shower, as they didn't take a bath today. Tomorrow though, I'll be sure to try it out, and see how well it works. Fridays are always tense days for some reason, so I'm hoping things will go smoothly.
Gloria actually wasn't as obnoxious as she usually is. She listened, more or less, when I told her it was time to go home because it was raining. It took quite a few times of dragging her to the front door, then dragging her across the street and into the house, to get her home. I actually had to carry her a couple of times.
When my back was turned though, she promptly turned tail and ran back outside.
An incident I'd like to note, she wanted more of supper. She took the casserole dish out of the fridge and prepared to put some onto a plate. However, I stopped her, because she needed to ask permission if she could have more. Her mother said she could, but that I needed to give her.
Gloria threw a fit about this, wanting to pour herself. I told her I'll do it, and that she should tell me when to stop, but she insisted on doing it herself.
I believe she reacted this way because, as stated in my last entry, she has an independence streak going. I think she felt that if I were to give her supper, it would be a sign that she's incapable of taking herself, and is still being somewhat "babied" by adults.
When I refused to let her take herself, she threatened to call her father, which didn't exactly faze me, because calling her father wouldn't do her any good.
She promptly dragged a chair over to the phone and called him. The entire conversation was on speakerphone, so I could hear the dialogue.
She told him that she wanted more supper, and he told her fine, but someone has to give it to her, she can't take herself (oooh, burn). This certainly displeased her, and she began to whine and complain that she wanted to take herself.
I noticed that she didn't give the usual excuse kids give, that they're "big enough" to take themselves. She simply stated that she wanted to take herself, and that was the end of the issue.
In the end, her father, who sounded pretty weary over the phone, told her to just let me give her, and he'll by her something.
She seems to be very cunning and manipulative, because she immediately used the situation to her advantage. She said she wanted ices, and her father said no, maybe something else, I forgot what it was he said, and she agreed to it.
She hung up all happy, but dissatisfied because she didn't get to take herself, and she still wouldn't let me give her.
Then her mother came into the kitchen and asked what was going on, and I told her that Gloria wants to take herself.
So her mother capitulated and said that she can take herself, on the condition that she eat at the table, which she agreed to.
Gloria seems to have a lot of pride, because when she can't do something, rather then admit that she can't do it, she'll simply say she can, or she doesn't want to. I've tested this theory. Today, she tried doing something, and she was doing it wrong. When I pointed this out, she looked quite embarrassed, but simply shrugged and rather then ask me how to do it, she just stopped altogether.
When I tried showing her how to do it, she had difficulty, and consequently decided to wash her hands of the whole thing.
The last time I saw her was before I was leaving, and she turned on the hose to wash her hands. I told her to shut it off because it was wasting water, but whether she did it right away or not, I have no idea. I think she realized that I was leaving, so she probably waited until I got in the car and left before resuming what it was she was doing with the hose.
Violet was pretty easy today. She allowed me to hug and kiss her (cause I really did miss her at least, out of all the other kids), and she was smiling. I think it safe to say she was glad to see me too.
There's not much to say on her behavior, as she was pretty good. She did go outside today with only her socks, which got her mother very upset because they were white socks, and the soles got completely filthy, and those won't come out in the wash.
When I was getting her from the neighbors house, she didn't want to come at first, but she did, in the end, listen, after some prodding and poking.
She was playing with the Leapfrog today, while it was raining outside, and she got extremely frustrated, because it wasn't working for all the pages. She didn't react violently though, just raised her voice as she let out some steam.
I'd like to note here, that on our way out of the neighbors house, their son, who's probably not much older then Violet herself, began to fight. I don't know who started it, but the next thing I knew, she was pulling his hair, he was pulling hers, they were pinching and hitting each other, etc. until I finally broke them apart.
The mother tells me that they fight all the time, it's like a ritual that every time they pass by each other, they fight. She says it's nothing new, and that it's only them two. Only he and Violet fight, the other children they interact with respectively are fine.
I'm going to watch this for interesting developments.
Cecilia, when she saw me today, ran away at first. I'm not sure what to make of this reaction, but she ran away from me almost every time she saw me today. I suppose I could chalk it up to the fact that she hasn't seen me in the last two days, and so therefore I went back under the category of "strangers" in her mind.
She was not overtly clingy to her mother today either, and later in the evening, she came over to me to ask for a straw. She was pretty mild and well behaved, except when she threw her empty cup and straw on the floor (possibly imitating Mark from earlier, though I didn't notice her in the vicinity when he did that), and I told her a couple of times to pick it up and throw it out, which she did.
Overall, they were not as hard today as they normally are. I'm very glad that they didn't have to take a bath today, because it made life so much easier. Tomorrow though, will be heck.
These are my observations for today. [07.07.05]
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-
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If you took the time to read all of that, pity my soul.
~Téa
I got pretty much the same reaction from the kids. Gloria seemed none-too-excited about seeing me, and neither was Violet or Cecilia. Mark's reaction actually surprised me a bit. He smiled really big, then ran away.
Gloria asked me why I'm there, and Violet asked why I came back. They were over at a friends house, I was actually surprised that I missed them enough that I was actually quite keen to see them again, consider the heck they've put me through the first week I was there.
Mark is still showing signs of reverse psychology. Today I told him to pick up the cup he threw on the ground, and he refused. When I told him to come inside because it was raining, he refused as well. Whatever I told him to do had the opposite effect, I'm trying to find a way to come up with a strategy to get him to say yes.
I would like to note here an incident that occurred today. He wanted a bottle (sad that a 3 yr. old still wants a bottle), and his mother told him that he was not going to get one unless he picked up the cup he threw on the ground (the same one I asked him to pick up from earlier).
He flat out refused, saying that he wanted a bottle, and no matter how many repetitions of "pick up the cup and I'll make you a bottle" he still refused to do so.
Another thing to note is that when he threw the cup on the floor, he did so in front of me. He finished eating whatever was inside, and came next to me, smiled broadly, and threw the cup on the ground. Then he grinned like a Cheshire cat when I told him to pick it up, as though expecting that kind of reaction, and responded with the usual, "no".
He also hit Cecilia today, and I think he also bit her, but when I looked at her hand, I couldn't see any real bite marks, though it could be he didn't bite so hard as to leave a mark.
I'm uncertain as to what prompted that reaction from him. I wasn't really paying much attention until I heard Cecilia cry. I have reason to believe that she irritated him in some way, but again, I'm not sure.
I was very firm with him, and reminded him of what I told him the last time I punished him, that we never hit/bite other people, we always go to an adult. He had eye contact while I said it, but I'm not sure if he understood completely what I was saying.
I didn't punish him like I normally would, because the last two times proved to be a failure. I'm going to have to try and come up with something a bit more creative to get the point across to him.
I've also noticed that for a three-year-old, he doesn't talk a lot, and when he does, he doesn't speak clearly. It could be he doesn't talk too much because I'm still somewhat of a stranger to him, but it could also be because he may need speech therapy.
I didn't get the chance to test out my theory about the shower, as they didn't take a bath today. Tomorrow though, I'll be sure to try it out, and see how well it works. Fridays are always tense days for some reason, so I'm hoping things will go smoothly.
Gloria actually wasn't as obnoxious as she usually is. She listened, more or less, when I told her it was time to go home because it was raining. It took quite a few times of dragging her to the front door, then dragging her across the street and into the house, to get her home. I actually had to carry her a couple of times.
When my back was turned though, she promptly turned tail and ran back outside.
An incident I'd like to note, she wanted more of supper. She took the casserole dish out of the fridge and prepared to put some onto a plate. However, I stopped her, because she needed to ask permission if she could have more. Her mother said she could, but that I needed to give her.
Gloria threw a fit about this, wanting to pour herself. I told her I'll do it, and that she should tell me when to stop, but she insisted on doing it herself.
I believe she reacted this way because, as stated in my last entry, she has an independence streak going. I think she felt that if I were to give her supper, it would be a sign that she's incapable of taking herself, and is still being somewhat "babied" by adults.
When I refused to let her take herself, she threatened to call her father, which didn't exactly faze me, because calling her father wouldn't do her any good.
She promptly dragged a chair over to the phone and called him. The entire conversation was on speakerphone, so I could hear the dialogue.
She told him that she wanted more supper, and he told her fine, but someone has to give it to her, she can't take herself (oooh, burn). This certainly displeased her, and she began to whine and complain that she wanted to take herself.
I noticed that she didn't give the usual excuse kids give, that they're "big enough" to take themselves. She simply stated that she wanted to take herself, and that was the end of the issue.
In the end, her father, who sounded pretty weary over the phone, told her to just let me give her, and he'll by her something.
She seems to be very cunning and manipulative, because she immediately used the situation to her advantage. She said she wanted ices, and her father said no, maybe something else, I forgot what it was he said, and she agreed to it.
She hung up all happy, but dissatisfied because she didn't get to take herself, and she still wouldn't let me give her.
Then her mother came into the kitchen and asked what was going on, and I told her that Gloria wants to take herself.
So her mother capitulated and said that she can take herself, on the condition that she eat at the table, which she agreed to.
Gloria seems to have a lot of pride, because when she can't do something, rather then admit that she can't do it, she'll simply say she can, or she doesn't want to. I've tested this theory. Today, she tried doing something, and she was doing it wrong. When I pointed this out, she looked quite embarrassed, but simply shrugged and rather then ask me how to do it, she just stopped altogether.
When I tried showing her how to do it, she had difficulty, and consequently decided to wash her hands of the whole thing.
The last time I saw her was before I was leaving, and she turned on the hose to wash her hands. I told her to shut it off because it was wasting water, but whether she did it right away or not, I have no idea. I think she realized that I was leaving, so she probably waited until I got in the car and left before resuming what it was she was doing with the hose.
Violet was pretty easy today. She allowed me to hug and kiss her (cause I really did miss her at least, out of all the other kids), and she was smiling. I think it safe to say she was glad to see me too.
There's not much to say on her behavior, as she was pretty good. She did go outside today with only her socks, which got her mother very upset because they were white socks, and the soles got completely filthy, and those won't come out in the wash.
When I was getting her from the neighbors house, she didn't want to come at first, but she did, in the end, listen, after some prodding and poking.
She was playing with the Leapfrog today, while it was raining outside, and she got extremely frustrated, because it wasn't working for all the pages. She didn't react violently though, just raised her voice as she let out some steam.
I'd like to note here, that on our way out of the neighbors house, their son, who's probably not much older then Violet herself, began to fight. I don't know who started it, but the next thing I knew, she was pulling his hair, he was pulling hers, they were pinching and hitting each other, etc. until I finally broke them apart.
The mother tells me that they fight all the time, it's like a ritual that every time they pass by each other, they fight. She says it's nothing new, and that it's only them two. Only he and Violet fight, the other children they interact with respectively are fine.
I'm going to watch this for interesting developments.
Cecilia, when she saw me today, ran away at first. I'm not sure what to make of this reaction, but she ran away from me almost every time she saw me today. I suppose I could chalk it up to the fact that she hasn't seen me in the last two days, and so therefore I went back under the category of "strangers" in her mind.
She was not overtly clingy to her mother today either, and later in the evening, she came over to me to ask for a straw. She was pretty mild and well behaved, except when she threw her empty cup and straw on the floor (possibly imitating Mark from earlier, though I didn't notice her in the vicinity when he did that), and I told her a couple of times to pick it up and throw it out, which she did.
Overall, they were not as hard today as they normally are. I'm very glad that they didn't have to take a bath today, because it made life so much easier. Tomorrow though, will be heck.
These are my observations for today. [07.07.05]
-
-
-
If you took the time to read all of that, pity my soul.
~Téa