Monday, Monday...

Tonight, for the first time in two months, I went to my radio club meeting because Ryan doesn't have soccer anymore. It was a Daisy Girl Scout meeting night, however, so Meg did the honors. The Daisies meet at the Plainfield Public Library. The Children's Room is a great place to play, so Meg took Robin to her meeting, then took Ryan there for an hour to wait for Robin. All was going well until, just before they left, Meg told Ryan that she wasn't going to borrow a movie...then The Meltdown occurred before she could even tell him why. He apparently threw a screaming, kicking, biting fit that both embarrassed her and Robin both. When I got home from radio club, I found Meg in tears saying that she will never take him there again. He was ensconced in bed with clothes and shoes and everything...past bedtime. (This is not the first time for a library Meltdown with him.)

Of course, I felt guilty because I wasn't there to help. And then there is the issue of Robin's Grandparents' Open House at school tomorrow afternoon, which occurs when Meg isn't home from work. Do I go and take Ryan with me? Do I stay home with Ryan and let the other grandparents go? Robin needs not suffer because of her brother's temper...but she does. At this point, we all feel like we are walking on eggshells around Ryan just to keep him on an even keel...and we aren't happy doing that with an almost-5-year-old.

Some of you may think that beating his bottom is the cure. We've done that. We've also done soap in the mouth for wicked words. He's had time-outs, loss of privileges, and a structured existence (that can't always be accommodated), but he remains defiant and sometimes out of control. The first sign of this behavior occurred last December. It hasn't gotten better. Our once sweet little boy has become a monster. We are looking for answers.

My students also weren't that well behaved today. They had a sub on Friday. She attempted to grade their spelling tests...and I applaud her attempt...but they were poorly graded. I found most corrections to have 1-2 mistakes. Ugh! Grades are due tomorrow. I have a set of tests to run through the Scantron machine before I can assure grades. Looks like a late day at the computer tomorrow!

Some things never change.