On Lockdown!

Elijah is on lock down right now. His behavior at school has been awful. They had benchmark testing for four days and that may be part of it, but I really don't know what to do. I went to pick him up for his doctor's appointment last week and the principal happened to see me. She mentioned an incident from that morning and that is what has him on lock down.

He has a status sheet each day at school that has a list of his classes. He can earn a green or move to yellow or red. He used to be able to earn his way back to green, but I told the principal to try letting him stay on yellow or red, if that is what he earns, then that is what he gets. He earns ten tickets for a green, five for yellow and zero for red. He then has to "pay" for electronic usage and toys at home with his tickets. Oh and I also cleaned out his room, so he really does HAVE to pay for his toys. The only thing he gets for "free" are books and crayons. If he has any acts of aggression he loses electronics for two days. Needless to say, he has lost all electronics until Monday and even then he has to have a good day to get the privilege of using them. I guess you could say I am running my own behavior unit at home.

Elijah has come a long way, but he still has a long way to go. He went with me on my mystery shopping run today. He was in the car with me for five hours. He was bored to death, but that is the point, isn't it. I also had a long talk with Jacob about how he reacts to Elijah. Now typical brothers can get into arguments and older brothers are known to be bossy, but all of us have got to watch how we talk in the house. Elijah carries over yelling and being bossy to school. That just doesn't work with a teacher and he can't differentiate all of that. Jacob has really put forth some great effort in improving how he handles things with Elijah. It isn't easy for him...he is only 15 and a boy! He has had to grow up quickly and I love him even more for it! I love my Elijah too, but I sometimes wonder if I can keep this up. I have good friends and a good support system with one of them. She helps me deal with all of this!

I'll keep you all posted! I have my drill sergeant's hat on and I am ready to enforce the rules. Consistency is the key!