ChambersMade: girl child

love that girl child.

cutie girl in pink the in middle

school has been hard for her...

she is a tenderhearted person who wants to learn, but learning hasn't been easy these last few years...

she sailed into school and soared those first 2 years...

then we hit second grade and things came to a screeching halt...

...third grade we started back in the forward momentum...

but just a very slow forward...

we've done different things to help her over the past 4 years...

talking with teachers
testing
different ways of doing things
more talks with teachers...
different testing...
NO TESTING...
no screen time during the week...
very strict bed times...
careful with the food that she eats before and during school...she NEEDS brain food, no wasted calories!
only mom does homework with her...
after school tutoring....
only dad can do homework with her...
no after school torturing...
homework at the kitchen table...
homework in her bedroom....
more talks with teachers....

I'm going to be honest,

her going into 5th grade was very scary for me.

She was going to have 4 different teachers...

4 different people that we had to communicate with about any issues she had with classwork or homework...and please don't let there be any girl drama...please NO 5th grade girl drama...

....

I prayed a lot this past year...

not that I wasn't praying before...

but I had more focused prayer for her...

God, help my girl enjoy school...help her get joy out of learning...God, help her to just get it!

we prayed more together...

Beau and I prayed for her

Beau and I prayed WITH her

we encouraged her over and over and over again to pray for herself.

we constantly reminded her that God was with her during EVERY test she took...

we pray daily on our drive to school...and would encourage her to pray at school before a test, before a project, or if she was having girl drama...

guess what...

there is 6 1/2 days of 5th grade left...

and this has been an amazing year.

....

school is still not easy for Madison,

learning will always be something that she has to reach a little higher for...

but her 4 teachers that she had this past year...

they were a gift from God...

they are what teachers are meant to be.

they stretched Madison when they knew she could stretch...

and they let her rest when she needed rest.

they helped her love school...

they nurtured her, they cherished her, they grew her academically in ways that we didn't hope for.

in the past month...

this child who has struggled with school for the past 4 years...

she won 3rd place in the 5th grade science fair...

...um yeah, there's ONLY 120 5th graders at her school!...

3rd place! Thanks Ms. Stoker...

and then...

she received a President's Education Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence....

WHAT!

yep...that's Mr. Obama's John Hancock on that!

and then...the one from left field...

the girl hates math...

always...since kindergarten...it's been her worst subject...

she received a certificate for her work in Math!

...thanks Ms. Hyatt....

Madison & Hailey with their math awards

I know what it's like for school to not be easy....

I didn't sail through school...

I think that may be why it's hard for me to watch Madison struggle...

I remember being in the group of 'slow' kids...

I remember wanting to leave the class and go to the fun reading class, but I couldn't spell so I had to stay in with the slow readers (even though I was a great reader!)...

I've learned this year...

some stuff I've always known...

Madison is smart, she just takes longer to get the information in...and then back out again...
I'd rather have a child that struggles with reading but never falters with it comes to compassion!
that girl is funny...
maybe school isn't as hard for her as it is for mom watching her...it's like I'm going through it again and saying, "not again,"... but it's her first time...she doesn't know different...
school isn't the end or the beginning of her life...or mine!
teachers can make or break a child...be your child's advocate