“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2014.”

Lillia: [This is the face of a tween that doesn’t want to have her picture taken, at least not at that moment.] This week you have been doing so well on your math homework. I already notice a change in you since you started getting extra help. It’s amazing how much confidence you have, just with that little bit of extra practice. You’ve also picked up another after school activity, Art After School, which takes place at the Episcopal Church here in Walpole. I have been trying to get you to go all year because you don’t have a lot of opportunities to do art activities with other kids (outside of your one art class a week at school). I try to nurture your talents and interests without being overbearing. It’s a fine line, but sometimes you do need a little push.

Zane: This week you’ve developed a very strange rash! It doesn’t seem to itch or really bother you, except occasionally. I don’t think it’s measles or rubella, since you have been vaccinated against them. My best guess is roseola? Oh, these childhood illnesses, always such a mystery! But, you seem okay otherwise. This week you also got to bring snack for your preschool class. You helped me make corn muffins for them, and you were so proud. Sadly, you missed both your “sharing day” and your class trip to the apple orchard because of your rash but, thankfully, you are too young to be upset about it and I promised you that I would take you apple picking on our own next week.

“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2014.”

Lillia: This week you were very upset because you’ve been placed in a remedial math program. I know that being remediated does carry a stigma, but it can actually be a good thing! I told you about my own struggles with math in high school, and how I desperately wish I had been remediated so that I could have been more successful. I know it’s hard to accept, but a fact of life is that you’re not going to be incredibly gifted at everything you try. Sometimes you are going to try and fail, and you will face challenges of varying degrees of difficulty throughout your life. Remediation is not a punishment and it is not an indictment of your future potential; it is a gift, and I hope you eventually see it that way.

Zane: This week we’ve been spending a lot of time exploring the trails behind our house. We have been out there before, but you were always too small to really hike by yourself so you ended up being in a backpack carrier. It’s a whole new world being on the ground! This week we saw herons, salamanders, and slugs. You poked mushrooms with sticks, and collected acorn caps and other treasures. You love running down the trails at full speed, though you do occasionally get a little tired. To go all the way around the pond and back home again is about two miles, which is a pretty long way for those little legs to go on their own! I plan to make nature walks a part of our routine on days when you don’t have preschool.

“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2014.”

Lillia: This week as been very difficult for you in a lot of ways. The expectations for fifth graders are so much higher than for fourth graders, and I think you are a little overwhelmed. You are such a bright girl and so far you have been able to succeed by doing a minimal amount of work simply because you are smart. But, I feel this year is going to be very different for you, and you’re going to have to decide how hard you are going to work, and how important your grades are going to be to you. Of course, as your mother, I would love for you to be a stellar student. I want every door to remain open for you. But, I can’t do the work for you, so from this point on you are going to play a much larger role in your destiny than I will.

Zane: You’ve only been at school for a week and already you’ve picked up a virus! Having been sheltered at home with me, you weren’t exposed to as many germs as you will be now that you’re in school. Thankfully, it has been a very mild cold and you’ve done well. This week you also seem to have had some sort of developmental shift and you are now REALLY enjoying having people read to you. You always enjoyed books before, but you didn’t have much of an attention span. This week you’ve been bringing me stacks of books and sitting through each one attentively; you remind me so much of Lillia when she was your age.