Learning to Lead

Last week I was informed that Malia had been selected as the Leader of the Month in her class at school. We were invited to a special lunch that would be held for all the kids who were honored this month. Kev had to work, but late this morning Nathan and I were able to join Malia for this event in honor of her achievements. The kids were all treated to a happy meal from McDonald’s, which unfortunately is not safe for Malia. But this is not our first rodeo, so we rode in with an alternate lunch in hand which featured some of Malia’s favorites: a turkey and cheese sandwich from Jimmy John’s, cheddar cheese Pringles, Fudge Stripe cookies and orange juice, her beverage of choice. We have also promised her a dinner at Crown Burger since she couldn’t eat the nuggets and fries that the school provided as a special treat to all this month’s leaders.

I’m so proud of Malia and her choices at school. She is standing out in good ways and is moving outside her comfort zone and social circle to try things that make her nervous and get to know other kids. Her very first week of safety patrol duty was last week and although she was a bit anxious about the responsibility associated with being selected as the safety patrol team captain, she did a fantastic job, and everything ran smoothly. She is also looking outside her normal, small circle of friends and has gotten to know some new people this year. I think she is happier having a few more people she feels comfortable with rather than being alone if one specific friend is not at school. 

I hope she will continue to make good choices and as such, to stand out as a good leader, a good student, and a good person.

Leader of the (Online) Pack

Our elementary school has done the best they can to try to provide some kind of school connection for the kids. While all their classes are online, a lot of the additional school programs and activities are just cancelled for now. However, they have continued their tradition of selecting a leader of the month from each class every month and have celebrated those kids’ accomplishment by compiling a slide show featuring several pictures of each child and sharing it with everyone. This month we were delighted to be notified that Malia was selected as this month’s leader in her class! She was very excited and when we picked up her award and her prize package from the school, we discovered that her teacher selected her because she has been proactive in the switch to online learning. Malia has definitely done that. While there have been hard days, most of the time she has been ready and willing to get her schoolwork done. She has not hesitated to reach out to her teacher via email, chat, instant message and video chat open hours in order to ask questions and receive guidance and individualized learning. She is in the habit of turning everything in on time and while she would much rather be in the classroom, she is still learning and progressing.

This was just a little bit of normalcy for Malia and a chance to celebrate some of the good that is to be found in our present circumstances. She has risen to the challenge and is working hard to continue to be a great student.