On the Eve of Third Grade (posted two nights late...)

Dear Ethan,

Tomorrow you start the 3^rd Grade! The middle: three years before third grade, three years after third grade. Wild.

You seemed to have a really great second grade year, and I am so grateful for that. After struggling slightly with your reading fluency in first grade, we really kicked things into high gear, and you improved so quickly. Your second grade teacher couldn’t believe you had any trouble whatsoever, and you were one of the strongest readers in the class. And you continued to work hard to come out of your shy shell, even rocking a narrator part in a school performance!

Your interests right now are mostly the same as last year: Legos, drawing, reading, and creating stories. Your Lego collection is getting slightly out of control, but you really do play with them all and enjoy them so much. You are careful to keep them together and organized, too. You don’t love to write, as evidenced by the big fuss you put up every time we tried to get you to journal over the summer, but you do love to illustrate. You have read the entire Diary of a Wimpy Kid series (some books several times), and you always want to draw and write if you have to write, just like the protagonist in the book, Greg Hefley. You created a character with some friends at school last year called Iron Pigeon, and you wrote several stories for him. Wherever you go, you leave your Pigeon mark, based on the Pigeon from the Mo Willem’s stories. It’s pretty funny how you incorporate him into drawings all the time.

I continue to be proud of your treatment of others, as you seem like a genuinely nice kid. You are upset, at times, by the way friends treat you, though I notice you do not treat them back in the same way. We are working on ways to express yourself better when you feel wronged, rather than simply shying away from the conflict—a skill that is certainly difficult to teach, especially for this pushover mom. You are a likable kid and have a variety of friends at school, not just those you’ve known for a long time.

Your treatment of Eleanor is still great most of the time, but we have surely noticed you figuring out how to push her buttons and manipulate her, and we are working on this as well. But the other day, when Eleanor was trying to get you to let her do something with you, she begged, “Please! I’ll be your best friend!” You paused a minute and replied, “Well, you already are.” I said, “Really?” And you said, “Kind of...” And my heart burst in a million pieces. Most of the time when you have conflicts, really, it’s because you are trying to get her to play with you or go along with something and she is uninterested. Then you get angry and take it out on her. But when you play well together, it is awesome! Just this week, you started a little morning tradition of climbing into Eleanor’s bed and reading Captain Underpants to her. It’s so flipping adorable! We got secret video of it, too, so you can’t deny it later.

You are still doing lots of activities, and soon you will start soccer and fall baseball. Daddy continues to “make” you practice with him, and you continue to whine and cry about it until you are actually outside doing it and, miraculously, enjoying it. We wish you would go with Dad more willingly and appreciate this time he spends with you, but I also know you will look back fondly on the time Dad spent with you working on throwing, catching, etc.

My hopes for you this year is that you continue to be a kind kid, one who is not exclusive of others, and that you work to the best of your potential. You can get a bit lazy when it comes to homework, and while we do not expect perfection, we do want you to always try your hardest. We know you will continue to make us proud.

I love you so much, bud!

Mommy

Addendum: It is two nights later, and I just read Harry Potter with you before bed. When I turned out the light, I talked about how you need to really be the best big brother and help show Eleanor around the school. I told you if you saw her during the day to be sure and wave and smile at her and help her if she ever seems upset. I could hear the smile in your voice as you said, “Sounds good.” I can tell how happy you are to have Eleanor become a part of your great school.