Mt. Pleasant Classical Academy

Early this morning, while the fog was still thick in the air ScienceKid and I headed outside. He set up the trebuchet while I stretched out the metric measuring tape. Sure that he NEEDS more data he came up with three data sheets for us to fill in; just 286 throws to do this morning. The weather forecaster is calling for winds and rain starting later today and running through the end of the week. If we are going to collect this data it needed to be done now.

The first several throws went, I marked the distance, recorded the data, and threw the ball or hackey sack back to SK. Sorry, I can’t share how far he is throwing but will do so after next Saturday’s competition.

“MOM, DON”T LET THE BALL HIT THE GRASS. IT’S WET”

He makes a few more throws, and I throw a few more balls back. Of course they hit the wet grass.

“MOM, DON”T LET THE BALL HIT THE GRASS. IT’S WET” he shouts over and over.

“MOM, THROW UNDERHAND. IT WILL GO FURTHER” he screams back at me. My underhand throw lands the hackey sack in the wet grass and short of where he is standing.

I turn to head back to my spot; the spot I think the next ball will reach.

WHAM!! I feel this projectile hit me squarely in the back.

“WHAT WAS THAT!” I scream.

SK has no answer but just a shocked look on his face. Later it occurred to me that this is a kid who can’t throw a ball. The kid who wouldn’t be able to hit the side of a barn if his life depended on it. Wow, what a shot, what a throw! But no, I yell out in pain;

“THINK, PLAN, ACT.”

That’s our school motto. SK’s personal reminder to get hold of himself and take control. It’s just one of the many behavior modification tricks we have tried to use with SK to help him and to provide him with some tools to control his ADHD. SK is ADHD and impulse control is not yet his strong suit.

ugh, my back was stinging badly. Wow, did that hurt.

We move on, continue testing, joke around, and finally are finished. My back no longer stings. Later tonight once SK’s action has sunk into his brain he and I will talk about the morning, about impulse control, about Thinking first, and thinking some more, and then acting. I hope that someday he will learn to think first, even when he is upset with me.  Hmm, wonder if I’ll ever get there too?  Think, plan, act.