Me? Patient?

I have been told on a regular basis that I exhibit a great deal of patience. Until this year there was at least one area where I knew that this was an absolute incorrect statement: board games. I would often lose my patience with a swiftness when trying to explain and then attempting to play board games with my kids.

This is not to say that I don't lose my patience other times. This year I have been humbled greatly. I knew when Dylan started Kindergarten that he was behind some of the other students. I worried about his interview with school, anticipating they would tell me he was not ready. He has never been the studious type. Dylan loves to have fun! He was allowed to begin this year but I was warned that he was weak in some very significant areas.

Maryn's kindergarten year was fairly breezy. She loves to learn and it comes easy for her. I was not prepared for what was to come. On a daily basis, Dylan gets a verbal punishment for not listening to his teacher, or not paying attention in class. They have moved his chair many times to try to find a better fit for him. His strong points, as I found out during a recent conference with his teacher, is that he has wonderful social skills and he is endearing and compassionate. His teacher told me that he is an incredibly easy boy to love. Loving Dylan comes incredibly easy for me. There is not a day that goes by that I don't grab him up and kiss on his squishy little cheeks. Teaching him, not so easy. I have found it incredibly difficult to hold his attention. I try so hard and I just feel like often during our hour or more of homework that I have just run an uphill marathon. It is exhausting. He appears to have no retention ability whatsoever when it comes to learning his letters or blending phonetically. I know this is not the case because when it comes to something he wants to do (Star Wars) he can remember these things in vivid detail. His wonderful teacher has assured me that there will be a point when he just "gets it" and until then we just have to keep on practicing and practicing.

I get so mad at myself when he sees my frustration. I spend most sessions of homework in constant prayer that God will impress upon me creative ways that will help him understand and succeed. Sometimes I feel successful, but more often I feel like I totally suck!