I do apologize for not writing much, but I’m just a wee bit overwhelmed once again.
Rod is in a busy period at work and the Girl Scouts are taking a good deal of his time. He has some work trips looming, too. He and Carl have been hanging out on the weekends some; one day they made a really big foam bow and arrow set, and one morning was completely devoted to some Scooby Doo Wii game.
Carl is fine. He complains about his homework, but he does it well, once we break his spirit enough for him to get down to business. He wants to have a playdate every single day and a sleepover every single weekend, and he’s angry when that doesn’t happen. He’s also angry that the agenda for after school hours includes anything he doesn’t want to do (i.e., all of Ruby’s activities). He needs to work on his personal hygiene and he eats tons. He has certain outfits he favors (basically all the stuff Grandma gave him, although he loves it for itself, not for its origins; she just knows how to pick ‘em) and getting them off of him for washing is a challenge. He also insists on sleeping with a certain quilt (again, coincidentally, from Grandma) every night…and with a certain towel (go figure), in a play tent that he has to fold himself up to fit into. To my surprise, he wanted to watch the Super Bowl this year, so we did. To my further surprise, he sustained his attention for the whole thing, and to my dismay, has been quoting the commercials to me ever since. He decisively chose to root for the Giants and therefore was unsurprised when they won: “Well, yeah. I told you they were the best one.”
Ruby is also fine, but with moments of pretty awful. Someone has to supply the drama around here, and while I try, she’s always ready to pitch in. I am increasingly concerned about her school situation, but unsure what to do about it. I have a whole flock of worry components: 1) Ruby’s personal unhappiness/bad classroom fit/socialization, 2) the dysgraphia, 3) her odd teacher, 4) some days it seems that standardized testing pressure is turning our lovely Montessori program into a worksheet distribution center, 5) general concerns about the quality of public education. Lately I’ve been Googling private Montessori schools, as I dream of a world without the TAKS or STAAR exams.
Yesterday, I toured a well-regarded private school that specializes in otherwise-smart kids plagued by learning differences, which sounded like it might be a good place for Ruby. I was afraid to really like it, because it costs about $28K a year, so it’s out of the question unless we win the lottery. It was excellent in some ways: just six kids in a class, excellent use of adaptive technologies, and just the welcoming atmosphere of a place that understands the difficulties these kids face and what it does to their self image. But it also seemed to be more than what Ruby needs; some of the kids were plainly autistic, severely ADHD, or just plain odd, and I just couldn’t see her making friends and fitting in. It was also extremely not-Montessori like in operation, with everyone doing the same things at the same time, and that would be a huge shock for her. So, no, it’s not the place for us right now.
I looked at a part-time “classical” private school, because I like the idea of part classroom time and part guided home schooling, but there’s a huge religion component there that I can’t accept, and I don’t know how they handle dysgraphia/dyslexia. There’s a Waldorf school nearby one can attend part time (and then part home school) but it’s new and I’m not convinced it’s any good, and Rod thinks I’m completely nuts for even looking at alternatives. I’m going to figure out a time I can go observe in Ruby’s classroom and some other upper elementary classrooms at her school, and get some more data points.
Anyway, maybe it’s just a phase and I’ll feel better once the horrible testing is over at the end of March. Ruby started with her new tutor last week and perhaps that will help. The tutor is a teacher at the above $28K school, so she knows about dysgraphia and ADD and processing disorders. She also teaches Ruby’s Brain Gym Yoga class on Saturdays, so they already have a comfort level.
I am really busy with PTO all of the sudden, too: our treasurer quit unexpectedly, and there are a ton of events coming up. My energy and interest level is flagging, but it all has to get done and then I need to help persuade some people to run the board next year. I’m working on our plans for spring break and Easter and I really need to settle down and plot out the summer camp calendar. Summer goes on forever this year, and the kids are getting picky about which camps they want to attend.
This weekend, Ruby is going to a concert with her piano teacher and a few other students, she's trying to set up the inaugural meeting of a book club with some other girls, and she has yoga. Carl is trying to set up a playdate that might last all weekend. We have a birthday party to go to, and Saturday night Rod and I are going to a Valentine’s Day event at the Arboretum. The kids are really cranky about having to go to the childcare room for this event, but I told them too bad—that they had to take one for the family and endure it; I’m sure the complaining will up the romance factor. Apart from that, there are no Valentine’s Day plans at my house. Carl needs to buy some valentines for his classmates, but now that he’s seven, he’s really just too cool for all that and he doesn’t want to, plus it would be so hard and take so long to have to write everyone's names... (did you just hear the whine? I hope so.)
XXXOOO to you all. Celebrate well.
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