so far, so good

Some of you may be wondering how Henry's new school is working out. I am really just trying to sit back and see how this plays out- trying not to rush to any judgment during these first couple months, so I don't want to draw any big conclusions yet, but I can share some things that have happened- good and bad.

(These pictures aren't related to school- just something fun Henry and I did together a few weeks ago. It turns out that our town has a Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings. One wouldn't know about this if one generally stays in her pajamas and drinks coffee 'til noon on Saturdays, so I'm a little late to this game. But we walked up one morning in September to check it out. Henry sat on that bench and ate almost a whole mini loaf of sweet potato bread. Then at home he ate FOUR AND A HALF of the six peaches we had purchased!!! )

So, anyway, school.
Remember the outgoing girl (let's call her O.G.) we met that first day on the school bus? Well she has become our entertainment every morning. She comes over to our car window, knocks on it, and then shows us what she's wearing that day (I have new Hannah Montana jeans, see?) or makes some other (one-sided) conversation, and then walks away again. One day I commented on her mom's Obama bumper sticker and, before I knew what hit me, outgoing girl had sold me 3 Obama t-shirts.
One morning she asked what we were listening to. It was one of our Disney read-aloud story tapes. "Henry," she announced, "I have a Lion King 1 1/2 read aloud that I never listen to anymore. You can have it. I'll bring it to the bus stop tomorrow. See you later." And she walked away. Henry's jaw was on the ground. "Is she going to get it?!" he asked.
That was a month ago. She has never found the tape but keeps insisting that she's looking for it. Her mom has no idea what read-aloud O.G. is talking about, so I'm not sure if they ever really had a Lion King 1 1/2 read aloud. O.G. brought us several Clifford and Arthur story tapes, but we all know that those don't compare to Disney.
Every morning as we approach the bus stop, Henry asks "Did (O.G.) bring the story tape?!" And every morning Thomas and I try to gently tell him that we doubt it.
I'm not sure why O.G. entertains me as much as she does- I think I just like seeing Henry interact with one of his peers. They have their little conversations (such as they are), and Friday he actually ran up to the bus and got on by himself for the first time EVER, chasing after O.G. and the elusive Lion King 1 1/2 read aloud. One morning O.G. reached through the window and started tickling Henry! I was ready for him to pinch her or shout something rude at her. But he just giggled, and then she walked back to her car. (!!!)
I've been glad to get to know outgoing girl's mom also. The first day that I got up my nerve to get out of the car at the bus stop and introduce myself to the other parents, I heard the whole story from her of how she and another mom had to fight our school district to get the kids bused to this school. O.G.'s mom told me that she doesn't think (new school) is perfect by any means, but that it is an improvement over what the district provides. That morning she basically told me what I wanted to hear- that I had made a good choice.
The most negative thing I can say right now is that I still feel communication is lacking. Some days we get those circle the smiley face reports home. More often we don't. One day Henry told us he had left his lunchbox on the bus and his teacher had given him an apple to eat. (Of course he didn't offer up this information- I had to bring it out with my interrogation skills.) I would have thought someone might have sent me a note home about that, (or even called me to ask me to bring in another lunch) but no. I sent an e-mail that night and got a response the next day, but after that I decided to just start a new communication notebook. There was one day last week Henry woke up at like 4:45 am. I wanted to send in a note, so they would understand if he seemed extra sleepy or grumpy. So I sent in a notebook and did receive a note back.
They send home fairly challenging homework every night, and Henry tackles it with absolutely no protest. This is very different from last year, and if he is working at school with the same agreeable attitude (which I can only assume he is) that is a significant improvement.
We are seeing a little more language, a growing sense of humor and, as Bill has noted, Henry seems "less stressed." When I ask about his day, Henry usually offers up whether he had art or music, and what they worked on in those classes. One night we were reading a Magic Treehouse book, and when he heard the character's name Jack, Henry piped up "just like Jack --- and Jack --- in my class!"
One silver lining I am trying to see in the lack of day-to-day communication is that it forces me to ask my son questions about his own day. Maybe he can tell me more than I think. One morning I was suggesting that he wear sneakers rather than crocs because they are safer "when you're in gym class or on the playground." "That's called recess," he corrected me.
"Right. Recess. What do you like to do at recess?"
"Mr. D is my best buddy."
"Do you hang out with Mr. D at recess?" "Yes."
"What do you guys do?" "We walk to the front desk, to see Mrs. S."
"Oh, really? Is Mr. D a teacher?" "Yes." "What class does he teach?" "He teaches in Mrs. C's class."
We have open house this week, as well as the book fair, so I will get to know all of these players a little better. I have offered to help in the classroom once a month, and hopefully they will take me up on that. (I had volunteered to help at the book fair, but they didn't need me!)