Janie was reading from her new book, Drama by Raina Telgemeier. She was reading a description of one character told by another.
She immediately chimed in, "Oh, she's a level one!"
"What? Did it say that?"
"NO! Didn't you hear what he said about her? It's everything a level one is."
I probed for more information. I knew exactly what she was talking about but I wanted to play dumb for a moment and hear her tell me.
We have a character education program at our school. One of the character traits is kindness and it is broken into four levels. I like this because it's true, kindness can look different and feel different depending on the situation. I asked her to tell me about the levels.
"Well, level one is caring about only yourself. Level two is when you care about yourself and your friends. Level three is caring about your friends, family, and yourself. Level four is caring about people who don't care about you."
I looked at her hard, "What level are you?"
She took a breath, "I'm a level three. It's hard to care about people when they are mean to you."
"Yes, it really is. I bet it takes a lot of work and time before someone becomes a level four. What do you think you would need to do?"
She paused for a moment, "You have to talk to people even when you don't want to."
"Yeah, I suppose you are right. Talking is always a good place to start."
With that, I gave her a kiss on the head and let her get back to her book.
It was a nice way to end the day. I'm proud of her for being so reflective and realizing she has growing to do. We're never done growing.
That was such a special moment...
ReplyDeleteThat is an awesome conversation you had with your daughter! I'm glad that she is taking something from the character lessons. I think it's great that she was able to do such an amazing job expressing kindness and where she feels she needs to improve! Keep up the good work!!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! It sounds like you are raising a special girl!
ReplyDeleteLove her connections and insights! And that it's hard to care and be kind to those who aren't so nice ... that's a life lesson that we are all constantly learning. Well said!
ReplyDeleteShe definitely has a lot of insight into her peers! I'm sure it must have made you a proud mama! Maybe she should become an assistant?
ReplyDeleteI love your closing line "We're never done growing". Your post made me think about what I'd give myself. I'd like to give myself a 4, but I think that caring about someone who doesn't care back can still be a challenge. It was good to be reminded that we are all growing - me too!
ReplyDeleteWow, that's awesome! She has a great understanding of what it means to be kind. Way to go Mama!
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