Seven!
So, Dutch. My girl. Dutch is a lot of things, and when I start listing adjectives to describe her, the list gets long and very contradictory. Today I went to her parent-teacher conference. Her teacher has nothing but good things to say about her - she's on track to exceed benchmarks in reading and writing, and meet them in math. She's nice to her classmates and doesn't brag. She comes to class ready to learn every day.
Dutch is interested in everything, but only shallowly. She often picks up books, declares she loves them. reads 100 pages, and ditches them.* She's interested in things that are Important - today Cook came home to find her and the babysitter setting up a "church" in the living room, and she asked him to be the priest. She loves knowing stuff, and condescending to people who she believes are less knowledgeable.
Dutch hates being wrong, and making mistakes. She's been brainwashed a little that Practice Makes Improvement (all the teachers I've met at her school are totally on board with the praising-of-effort-rather-than-achievement, which is excellent), and Everybody Makes Mistakes, and Mistakes Help You Learn What You Need To Work On, etc., and that helps, but she still hates it.
Dutch's social life is deeply important to her, in a way that is unfamiliar to me and to Cook. She has no best friend, and she plays with a lot of different kids. She is admirably open to playing with every single kid in her school and seems to see everybody as a potential playmate; she never dismisses anybody based on their appearance, past behavior, or reputation. This can be bad, as she seems to continue playing with kids who have treated her badly in the past, but we're not really sure what the real story is on those episodes anyway. But I think it's probably overall a good thing. The other kids seem to like her, because she likes them, and she's up for anything (again, possibly a bad thing in some ways), and enthusiastic about lots of different activities.**
But what I really wanted to say is that Dutch is really different than I thought she was. Some of you gave me flak about my conviction that she was introverted way back when she was two, and you were right. Maybe she was, but she sure as hell isn't now - she's a classic extravert. She needs down time, like most anybody, and she's not super-high energy, but she is definitely energized by social interactions, and thrives on new experiences and situations that require quick responses. (Skipper shows a lot more signs of introversion, but I've learned my lesson, and I'm not going to categorize her any time soon.)
So, Dutch. I love that kid.
*"Pride and Prejudice is a dumb book," she announced the other day. "So this guy needs to get married?"
**I have some fear about what adolescence holds for a kid who cares deeply about social cues and likes trying new things. Hopefully the desire to please authority and not to make mistakes will mitigate any potentially dangerous impulses...
Dutch is interested in everything, but only shallowly. She often picks up books, declares she loves them. reads 100 pages, and ditches them.* She's interested in things that are Important - today Cook came home to find her and the babysitter setting up a "church" in the living room, and she asked him to be the priest. She loves knowing stuff, and condescending to people who she believes are less knowledgeable.
Dutch hates being wrong, and making mistakes. She's been brainwashed a little that Practice Makes Improvement (all the teachers I've met at her school are totally on board with the praising-of-effort-rather-than-achievement, which is excellent), and Everybody Makes Mistakes, and Mistakes Help You Learn What You Need To Work On, etc., and that helps, but she still hates it.
Dutch's social life is deeply important to her, in a way that is unfamiliar to me and to Cook. She has no best friend, and she plays with a lot of different kids. She is admirably open to playing with every single kid in her school and seems to see everybody as a potential playmate; she never dismisses anybody based on their appearance, past behavior, or reputation. This can be bad, as she seems to continue playing with kids who have treated her badly in the past, but we're not really sure what the real story is on those episodes anyway. But I think it's probably overall a good thing. The other kids seem to like her, because she likes them, and she's up for anything (again, possibly a bad thing in some ways), and enthusiastic about lots of different activities.**
But what I really wanted to say is that Dutch is really different than I thought she was. Some of you gave me flak about my conviction that she was introverted way back when she was two, and you were right. Maybe she was, but she sure as hell isn't now - she's a classic extravert. She needs down time, like most anybody, and she's not super-high energy, but she is definitely energized by social interactions, and thrives on new experiences and situations that require quick responses. (Skipper shows a lot more signs of introversion, but I've learned my lesson, and I'm not going to categorize her any time soon.)
So, Dutch. I love that kid.
*"Pride and Prejudice is a dumb book," she announced the other day. "So this guy needs to get married?"
**I have some fear about what adolescence holds for a kid who cares deeply about social cues and likes trying new things. Hopefully the desire to please authority and not to make mistakes will mitigate any potentially dangerous impulses...
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