That's My Boy!

Due to Spring Break, I found myself taking Sullivan to my acting class that I teach for home schooled kids yesterday. I was nervous about it because he's so much younger and he tends to be clingy and shy in new situations. Not to mention how hard it was for me to teach his pre-school class because he was constantly vying for my attention and acting out in class. I was worried about a repeat performance of that because this group already has issues with ensemble work AND I knew my class was going to be filmed for Japanese television. Enough pressure?

Well, I needn't have worried. For all the toys and activities I brought with me to distract him, Sullivan was fixated on the class activities. Although he did not speak in class, he did whisper his observations in my ear.

Now, before I had taken this class over they had had another instructor who, apparently, let mob rule take over the classroom. Any sense of ensemble had been obliterated by the lack of structure (and safety) and I have been trying to re-build it. Not an easy task. There are some brilliant kids in this class who are accustomed to working independently (I wonder why?) but have extreme difficulty working in a group. So I've been introducing these games to help them see how important it is to work with the group instead of against it. Sullivan was somewhat familiar with these exercises because, well, because he's my kid. He watched intently. In the middle of one of the games he whispers into my ear;

"Mommy- they're not listening to each other."

"I know, honey."

"Tell them!"

"No, they have to figure this one out on their own."

He looked frustrated, "But they're wasting your time!"

These kids are more than 2 or 3 times his age and it is going to take them weeks or even longer to figure this one out. My boy, he gets it NOW.

Damn, he's a genius just like his Momma.