I met with Adam’s teacher last night. Adam is doing great in first grade. His teacher said that he is doing really, really well with his math, reading, and spelling. He follows directions, listens, and pays attention.

He does need to work on one thing – he talks too fast. His teacher said she’d like him to try to speak a little slower (no idea where he gets that from – haha).

She also said he’s very kind and a really good friend to the other kids in the class, and then gave me a couple of examples too.

That was probably the best thing I took away from the meeting. I want all our children reach their potential and try their best academically. But more importantly, I want them to be good people. I want them to be polite and respectful. I want them to be kind.

My Grandpa Jim always used to say, “It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.” That saying always stuck with me. I have a copy of it framed and sitting on my desk, and Adam has heard me say it more than a few times.

So I am incredibly proud of my first grader.

He can tell you the meaning of big words like “echolocation”. He can give you an example of an idiom and tell you the difference between fiction and non-fiction. He has awesome handwriting and is a great speller. He loves math and numbers. He is reading so well. He did fantastically on the standardized tests they took at the start of the year.

And he is kind.

I was able to get a video of Adam during his class tonight. He says, “gymnastics is fun.” He is doing really well, his cartwheels need some help though.