For the most part, the Meatball, a second grader gets excellent grades. So when she got a B- in Reading Comprehension, Pretty Pants and I were concerned. As a way to monitor her progress, we decided to hold what we called family meetings every Friday night after dinner. We used this time to review and discuss the Meatball's graded work from the week. With each of us sitting at the dining room table, (Little Spaghetti had to be preoccupied w/Yo Gabba Gabba during these times) the Meatball would introduce each paper, explain what was required of her and announce what grade she got. My husband and I would then take turns asking her questions or giving her comments about her work. Family meetings turned out to be very effective for us and a great tool for opening up dialogue. It was an opportunity for Meatball to have all our attention and a platform to learn how to present and communicate. The first few meetings we would get a lot of "I don't knows" or "I forgots" from the Meatball when she would present her work to us but after a couple rounds, she began to feel more comfortable expressing and communicating to us what she did learn and/or what she was struggling with.
Family meetings lasted for a good two months. (Consistency is so tough!) The Meatball's grades improved. We got busy and family meetings fell to the wayside. Until the Meatball brought up, "Why don't we have family meetings anymore?" Not wanting to give her the "we got busy" excuse, I replied, "Well, why don't you remind us?"
The next day on the refrigerator, I saw this:
I was so proud that the Meatball took the initiative and organized her own meeting! On Friday, she had all her homework prepared and ready to be presented. As she led her meeting, I found myself realizing how well we worked as a unit, a team, which just adds so much more to the concept of family. Just because Mommy and Dad aren't leading it doesn't mean that children cannot step up and take ownership over certain tasks or events to be seen and heard. Way to go Meatball!
