The youngest's going to school in September and today was the first of two 'getting to know the place' visits. So he could meet the teachers and familiarise himself with the school and them with him. Teach had met him before when she visited his nursery and we had been to the school a couple of times before to speak to Teach so all was not new! Youngest has social difficulties and new surroundings and new people can be a challenge. He is currently going through a diagnoses as he probably has some form of autism but all the experts seem to think he'll cope fine with mainstream school. I beg to differ, perhaps they should have come today and watched!
We arrived with other parents and their kids then queued at the gate and were greeted by older students from the school. The other 'new' kids were asked their names and when they answered were given a smile and a name badge. Youngest ignored the questions then punched himself smartly three times around his head and hid in his mums legs! Good start!
We moved around to the playground trying to convince him this was a good idea and he wasn't fucking having any of it. If his bottom lip could have got any lower it would have been scrapping on the floor! After a quick play we are herded into the classroom which houses two classes, it's very small! I didn't bring a cat with me so I pick up a small child and try in vain to swing it! Youngest trys a few activities on show without much enthusiasm then settles down for his mum to read a book to him. Teach comes over and talks to him, he ignores her while punching his head three times. we are seeing a bit of a pattern here. She is nice and chats to him for a bit though I'm sure she is not as calm on the outside as she is on the inside. She leaves and another lady takes her place, three punches........ you get the picture and now he's making a pattern on pegboard with plastic coloured pegs. All the pegs are light green in colour! She trys to get him to use other colours, he gives her a look like, you want me to start punching again and she relents. She whispers something in his ear and he gets very friendly with her, must have been a promise of sweets or violence!
The kids are herded outside to play while Teach chats to us, Youngest isn't amused but goes under protest. We are put in a room full of chairs they have just taken out of the dolls house I cant get down that far, well not and get up again, so opt for a table. I glance around the room at the parents, we are sat between a lady (not sure if that's the correct word) who's wearing a dress so short the people in front of her can see her lunch (but wearing nice shoes?!) and a veteran from Greenham Common! Most of them look sooo young and I feel sooo old. Teach chats for a while with authority about a number of topics then gets to Heathers favourite, food! I don't know if it's a Canadian thing but food is a bit of an obsession eg; on the weekend when youngest has no school he has a pre-breakfast snack, breakfast, a post-breakfast snack, a pre-lunch snack then lunch! She was very concerned that she couldn't send him in with snacks for the morning and told Teach! Teach snapped at her saying, that she managed without a snack. Heather's gone off Teach now!
We go find youngest when it's all over and he tells us "he's never going there again!". Got news for you buster!
We arrived with other parents and their kids then queued at the gate and were greeted by older students from the school. The other 'new' kids were asked their names and when they answered were given a smile and a name badge. Youngest ignored the questions then punched himself smartly three times around his head and hid in his mums legs! Good start!
We moved around to the playground trying to convince him this was a good idea and he wasn't fucking having any of it. If his bottom lip could have got any lower it would have been scrapping on the floor! After a quick play we are herded into the classroom which houses two classes, it's very small! I didn't bring a cat with me so I pick up a small child and try in vain to swing it! Youngest trys a few activities on show without much enthusiasm then settles down for his mum to read a book to him. Teach comes over and talks to him, he ignores her while punching his head three times. we are seeing a bit of a pattern here. She is nice and chats to him for a bit though I'm sure she is not as calm on the outside as she is on the inside. She leaves and another lady takes her place, three punches........ you get the picture and now he's making a pattern on pegboard with plastic coloured pegs. All the pegs are light green in colour! She trys to get him to use other colours, he gives her a look like, you want me to start punching again and she relents. She whispers something in his ear and he gets very friendly with her, must have been a promise of sweets or violence!
The kids are herded outside to play while Teach chats to us, Youngest isn't amused but goes under protest. We are put in a room full of chairs they have just taken out of the dolls house I cant get down that far, well not and get up again, so opt for a table. I glance around the room at the parents, we are sat between a lady (not sure if that's the correct word) who's wearing a dress so short the people in front of her can see her lunch (but wearing nice shoes?!) and a veteran from Greenham Common! Most of them look sooo young and I feel sooo old. Teach chats for a while with authority about a number of topics then gets to Heathers favourite, food! I don't know if it's a Canadian thing but food is a bit of an obsession eg; on the weekend when youngest has no school he has a pre-breakfast snack, breakfast, a post-breakfast snack, a pre-lunch snack then lunch! She was very concerned that she couldn't send him in with snacks for the morning and told Teach! Teach snapped at her saying, that she managed without a snack. Heather's gone off Teach now!
We go find youngest when it's all over and he tells us "he's never going there again!". Got news for you buster!
3 comments:
Sounds a tough one!
It ought to be one visit and that's enough, when your fiveish. Why bother going again?
It's a rotten challenging world when you'd rather be home snacking :)
Perhaps if Teach had a snack between breakfast and lunch, she wouldnt be so snappy?!
I used to help out at our infants school when my boys were much younger. after he was born I used to take #4 with me until he was a yr old. I found most of the teachers there to be lovely, there was one however who was not so friendly. she taught #3 when he was 7 and they got on well but she taught #4 when he was 6 and he hated her.
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