It's finally happened. God has given us a bright light. Most of the time, it's just a tiny spec and I squint hard to see it there. But, we have been given a shining ray of hope!
Little Buddy has earned his LEADER BADGE for the first time!
This is an amazing accomplishment in his 3rd year of elementary school. And the tears of joy flow.
You see, a leader badge is a special thing at our school. Kids with leader badges get special privileges like walking in the hall without having a hall pass. And getting to eat at a special table in the cafeteria when they want. And sometimes there are spontaneous celebrations for anyone with their leader badge. It's a school-wide incentive to help kids be on their best behavior; to follow directions and "Do Their Best" (or DYB - Do Your Best - as the kids always say each morning during announcements).
It's based on a color system. Blue - excellent day, Green - good day, Yellow - not-so-good day, & Red - bad day. They get two warnings before each "color change" and the warnings are coded according to the infraction (Little Buddy's are usually talking and not following directions...). Leader badges are awarded at the beginning of the year after 10 straight days on blue.
Little Buddy started out having a pretty good blue/green year. Then, he had a string of blues. He was so proud of himself. We held our breath as we neared #10. On day 11, as I drove around the corner in the car line, I craned my neck to see him standing in the line out front. I caught a glimpse of something glinting in the sun light. There it was around his neck. His very first Leader Badge. I cried. He got in the van and looked at my face because he knew I would be crying and he gave me a big hug. He was so proud of himself.
A change really has come over him. He is working so hard and trying to do the right thing. I asked him one day what had changed to make him make such good choices in 2nd grade. He looked at me like "you mean you don't know" and said, "Of course I've changed. I got baptized and Jesus is in my heart!" Duh, mom...
And so, that badge of honor hung around his neck for 2 whole weeks before he finally slipped to green for two days. He was so disappointed, but I told him I was proud of him for earning his first leader badge and keeping it for so long. He would do his best and get it back in a week.
Thank goodness he only has to have 5 straight days on blue to earn it back now. One down, 4 to go! Oh, I can tell that 2nd grade is going to be our turn-around year!
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3 comments:
Yea!!! I am happy for you too!
Oh, I know how proud you are! I'm soooo happy for you. I hope he keeps up the good work. Hang in there - it all pays off eventually (so I'm told)
Way to go Little Buddy! As a mom of boys, I understand what an accomplishment that is. I teared up just reading it!
One day I was dropping Daniel off at school. As he was running in, there was a younger girl following him. I had no idea if he realized she was behind him. I kept saying under my breath, "open the door for her, open the door for her". Sure enough, as soon as he reached the door, he opened it, then stepped aside for the little girl to enter. This momma was SO proud! To me, that was better than any honor roll. It showed his character. You better believe I gushed all over him when he came home from school. I told him that I was very proud, but also that he had blessed the mother of that little girl. It made dropping her off at school that much easier, knowing there were big boys watching out for her. It's an important job he's given these boys.
Anyway, sorry for the novel!
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