Mr. Michael

Michael has taken so many strides forward, it's hard to believe he's the same child that, less than 7 years ago, didn't speak, made no eye contact, was completely out of control and lived in his own little world. Now, he has made A/B Honor Roll for the 2nd time, he has almost doubled his A/R reading level and he is doing all of this with virtually no assistance. He is given an allowance of extra time for taking tests, when they do their ARMT (think IOWA testing . . .) he has the option to take them in a separate room along with even more time to take the tests if needed. He also has a "tutor" to help catch him up in grammar and sentence structuring. (Hi, can I get one too?? lol)

Michael has also made huge strides in friendships. There a number of kids that he plays with now, from all over the neighborhood. Rarely does a day go by now that someone isn't knocking on the door looking for him. It has also given me a great opportunity to help him to grow as a human being . . . he'll come to me from time to time with struggles on how to handle a certain situation. After talking about it until he understands what is the right thing to do, he not only listens (can you believe it?) but he also does his best to help the other kids involved to understand WHY it's the right thing to do . . . he really wants to help make the world a better place. *GUSH* The only really hard part is that his best friend, Hayden, will be moving to Birmingham the end of the year. Something that we are trying not to focus on too much, but I know it is going to hit him hard once Hayden is actually gone.

Michael has become such a huge help at home. He sets/ clears the table, helps keep the living area picked up. Works to keep his room clean and helps wrangle the little ones when things start to get out of hand. I really don't know what I would do without him. He just adores being the big brother - especially when things are a bit quieter and he can snuggle with Andrew. 

I really wish we were closer to everyone, so that I could share with you all what just a small glimpse into his mind is like. There are so many wonderful things rolling around in there - I can't WAIT to see what he's able to accomplish as an adult. I just hope he keeps his passion about doing what he can to help the world. I continue to tell him he can to anything he wants, as long as he's willing to put the work in to achieve his goals. I also tell him almost daily that no one can tell him what he's capable of - that's something only he can discover for himself. Case in point, dancing . . . Michael has really grown in just a couple of months at dance. If he can work on focusing, that boy would have some serious moves!