Ben –
sometimes Benji when he’s snuggly, sometimes Benjamin Miles when he has his
sassy pants on – was not named for any family members like his older brother,
but was named because as a teacher every Ben I’ve ever had in class has been a
really good human being. Ben lives up to
his name quite well.
Ben
is the middle brother of three boys.
Jack is 10 and Nate is 2, so Ben exhibits both middle child behaviors
(the peacemaker of the family who never learned how to play by himself) and the
youngest child behaviors (comedian – his dry, sarcastic sense of humor is
legendary in our family) because he was the youngest until age 5. Ben is a snuggler with a big heart. He is excellent with kids and animals because
he’s so patient and calm. In fact, his
current future plan is to open up a daycare center that doubles as a petting
zoo so that the daycare kids can interact with animals. That seems like it has all sorts of health
code issues, but it also sounds like the perfect job for Ben.
Ben
is a homebody – he relishes life in the summer that is unscheduled and relaxed,
so August is always a tough transition for him.
First soccer starts (he plays for Chill, a club team, and practices
twice a week from 6:30 to 8:00, which seems kind of late for second
graders). Then school starts. There are always a few meltdowns as he
adjusts to the busy schedule again and mourns the loss of summer freedom.
Despite
his initial adjustment period, both soccer and school come easily to Ben. His favorite subject is usually math. He
excels at math and enjoys being pushed to learn more – last year Ms. Jones
differentiated for him by exploring fractions and some multiplication. He is a strong reader, but doesn’t enjoy
reading for himself. He prefers to
listen to someone else reading or to books on MP3 – we’ve been listening to Harry Potter in the car (his first time
through, and his brother’s third or fourth) and are currently on the fifth book
(Order of the Phoenix). We listen on the way to soccer practice and
to church. He’s currently re-reading (but
personally reading aloud for the first time) Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
-- he loves all the Fudge books by Judy Blume, especially this one since
Fudge is the same age as his own little brother.
Ben
is an excellent role model to his little brother, Nate – he plays with him on
his level, makes him laugh, but is also vigilant for dangerous situations. He is a good leader in that regard, even
though he often feels shy about speaking up, he typically leads by example,
makes compromises but isn’t afraid to go his own way if he doesn’t like what
the group is doing. Ben shows quiet
leadership in his friend group and on the soccer field.
Ben
loves to be a helper at home and at school.
At home he is always the one helping me in the garden or with
baking. At school he often helps kids
who struggle with learning or behavior, kind of like an informal Link. When I asked him what he liked most about
first grade, he said, “Mileage Club and helping Rodney” (a student in his class
last year on whom Ben had a calming influence).
That statement is Ben to a T: he likes to move and play and he likes to
be a helper.
