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| Syllable Sonata Vol. 1 |
"Mmmmmm-aaaaaaaaa. Mmmmmmm-ooooooooo, ooooooooooo-uuuuuuuuu, ooooooo-iiiiiiii". Thanks to these French syllables, I may need botox earlier than anticipated. My mornings start with repeats of syllables while in traffic. As soon as we get home from school, I break out, in what could make a bestselling learning jam of, MA-MO-MI-OU-OI-TU-TA-TÉ. At this point, I'm thinking of creating a mix of these two-letter sounds, featuring Nicki Minaj in the background. My daughter would be fist-pumping these syllables in no time.
I heard first grade was tough, but I never thought it would awaken such anger and frustration. First, it's a big adjustment for kids, given that they spend most of their day sitting in front of a desk. That's a challenge in itself. Then they come home with words to rehearse for testing at the end of the week. Now, if these words were sung by Katy Perry, Chloe would be busting out in song all day 'n night. Somehow though, when I sing them, she just looks at me with blank eyes and deaf ears.
Last week, I wondered, "should I have just sent her to English school?" Of course, as a Mom, the first place you hit up for blame is yourself. Your child is struggling one month in to school, so you panic. Being the resourceful chic that I am, I start to search all these educationally "fun" websites for inspiration on how to get her mojo going. I made q-cards with cute pictures thinking she'll definitely get it now. And then I ask her to write two letters - just two, and she looks at me as though I went from French to Chinese.
I must be doing something wrong! In my defense, I never applied to teach prèmiere année. Not only do I have to re-take first grade (en Francais) but I have to sit in silence (ya right!) as she guesses, "dessine", when I'm holding up the word "colorie". And then I break out in syllable song - "ddddeeeessssssssssiiiiiinnnnneeee". Blank look, deaf ears, take two. Where is my first grade emergency kit that includes: gin, cucumber slices, and ice??
I truly hope a recording artist lands on this post, gets inspired and asks Selena Gomez to create a mash-up of syllables in vibrato. I may not have mastered in teaching primary school, but I did graduate in marketing. Why hasn't anyone thought of doing this?? Until that breakthrough manifests, I'm back to designing my own "examine de lecture". Are all you Moms doing this? Are your kids breezing through 'et' vs 'est'? If not, then where is our support group? Why does my inbox not have an invite to a 'First Grade Freak Out Session'? I mustn't be alone here. I'm losing my cool almost every night. I'm not sure if she just doesn't get it or if our expectations are just too high. But before you comment that 'it'll get better', 'hang in there', I'd like to acknowledge that I'm disappointed in our educational direction. Is it really so valuable to a six year old child's, developing self-esteem, to be able to recognize the word, 'souligne'? I know adults who can't spell that word! So as I'm belting away my own little version of syllable beats in French, deep down I'm hoping my daughter isn't taking any of her mistakes to heart.
Chloe, one day you'll read this, so I want you to know that I never expected (or secretly hoped), you'd be soaring through prèmiere année. All I really want is for you to try your best in everything you do, regardless of the result. Not all work is fun, but whatever you do learn, will contribute to your growth and how you react throughout the process, will become your best teacher.
To all the parents with a strong desire to see their child succeed, I hear your screams. I recognize your effort, impatience, and dedication to stay the course. May the academic force be with us as we stumble through the school year with humility and compassion for our children, as well as all teachers.
