A Bad Choice

Well, P has not had a great afternoon. She had a sample test to do last week for the CRCT that she must pass to be in 4th grade next year. She can not read and her teacher sent it home for me to read to her and for her to answer. It took very long, close to an hour and a half and we stopped. I asked her to bring it home the next night and we would try again. It never came back. Today I get a note from the teacher explaining she had asked P for it many times and she had shut down and refused to look up. She asked for 3 days and finally gave her a check for it.

I am not really surprised about the school issue. Right now we are more focused on her honesty and attachment to this family and that is where my next question came from. "P, I have a note from your teacher about that test, I asked you about it a couple of days ago and you told me you turned it in. Do you want to take a moment and tell me anything else? Here is your chance to be honest with me." She did not make a good choice. She raged from 3:25 PM until 6:45 PM. She got up and cleaned her room and came to find me. She told me to look at her room and she wanted to make me proud (ok, I am correcting how she said it but the intent was that). Then she repeated the word I have said to her hundreds of times, "Just b/c I made a bad choice doesn't mean I am a bad girl. Right?" She smiled so big, I hugged her really tight and and agreed. This is so big for her, we are seeing more and more of this new child. It is one of the most amazing things I have ever witnessed.