Orbiting the program, people!
This morning we went to "Parent's Day" at my daughter's school. I cried. I choked back sobs. My daughter is THE child we all dread having. She is what the California daycare system calls an "orbiter."
I should mention the fact that up until we moved here 3 months ago, she had never spoken Hungarian. She has made amazing progress and I understand that it takes time, a lot of time, to assimilate but it was so depressing to sit there for 2 hours, TWO HOURS people, and watch the whole class perform like they were auditioning to Juliard. Except that the whole class wasn't perfoming because there was my kid "orbiting" around the room doing whatever the fuck she felt like doing and I was crushed.
Show me a parent who doesn't imagine that their child is the smartest, most outgoing, participating on cue, non-orbiting on the planet. To be confronted with the opposite at the beginning of their academic career is frightening, to say the least, and people I am scared. How can this perfect child who loves to play "piraks" be an orbiter?
Anybody out there with a story to share? I could use some cheering up!
2 comments:
Oh, she's young AND in a foreign country. She is a very intelligent child... so she lacks focus, whatever! She's normal, nothing to worry about, as you know. I can tell you from my experience that there are times when I'm impressed and awed by Brita's seemingly innate sense of how to act in a situation and then of course there are those times when I wonder what I could've possibly done differently to avoid what is happening. But at the end of the day she's my precious baby girl and I know that she can take whatever this world will dish out to her. I know Julia can too!
My child is an orbitor. Big time. We went to a Little Gym session awhile back (Like Gymboree) The kids were following along with the teacher and there's mine, wandering off here, there and everywhere. For most of the 60 minutes.
I signed him up after watching him for 5 minutes. Because the boy needs to learn how to follow directions!
You are not a bad mom if your child is doing her own thing while the group is doing something else. I think some kids are really sensitive to their environment as well as curious. And as soon as they check things out and feel a bit familiar, they can then focus.
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