[pepper]

he brought home an apple with toothpicks of fruit loops and mini multi coloured marshmallows as a "turkey" last week. and the latest general flier in his back pack had the hot lunch menu of hotdogs, pizza and submarine sandwiches outlined for 10 of the twenty school days in october.
i HATE public school.

[mouse]

yeah....there are things which could be improved upon--ie, i don't think that computers and television should be as prevalent in little kids' lives as they are today, but i don't think they should be banned outright either. i think, though (at least with what i've seen going on in my mom's school) that the anthroposophical community is largely "catching up" with the outside world lately. which is great, the flexibility and knowledge that the world changes and you don't always have to do things the same way. the basic philosophy is the same, but they are adapting it.

and yeah, the reading--i mean, i do think that for certain children it can be really helpful to learn that way, very slowly and steadily and with a lot of rhyming and talking and practice first. but i taught myself to read at around 4, and wasn't really allowed to make use of that in school until i was much older.

however, i love the fact that they integrate art into everything, i love the way everything is taught WHOLLY--you clap out your times tables or do stepping games instead of just sitting at a desk with a book full of numbers. and i love that they teach so much in depth history and geography and culture--no public school teaches the entire greek and roman myths in fifth grade, put on a scaled-down olympic games, and then put on a real greek tragedy. and i could draw every continent by memory by seventh grade, did shakespeare at age 13 (a full production of comedy of errors, fully memorized, choregoraphed, painted scenery, sang and played shakespearean instruments), studied french and german from kindergarten on, played cello from fourth grade on, was in an orchestra, sang in a choir, sewed my own eighth grade graduation dress, wrote and illustrated my own textbooks, built a miniature model of a japanese paper house in third grade, learned how to milk a cow, knit a pair of socks, crochet, embroider, felt, carve wood, in addition to being able to skip up to algebra 2, geometry and honors science when i got to public school....

[pepper]

definately better than regular school mouse, i even considered it for my wee imaginative youngster but... there is a very strong waldorf presence in the community here so i'm more than passingly familiar with the philosophy and it just doesn't all jive with me.
definately better than regular school though. no doubt.

i just found out that the french immersion program has a kindergarten, woot! i thought they didn't start classes until grade four or five but they're doing the whole grade spectrum, i am so excited! my little pierre is going to learn the mother tongue!

(that's not his actually name.)

[mouse]

that homogenizing of the children's art is exactly what they do in Waldorf school. no reading until children are seven either. waldorf grade advancement is based on when their teeth come in too. so weird.

*delurking*
um.....hi guys! not a mom but i lurk. anyway......i went to a waldorf school and i LOVED it, and my mother teaches at a waldorf school for children with mental disabilities. i grew up totally involved in that community. i went up until 8th grade; i don't think they're that great for older kids. but for younger, imaginative kids they are fantastic. i have to say.....it's not homogenizing at all. it's teaching a therapeutic technique, and it's the reason that, now, as a designer decades later, i know the color wheel without even thinking about it. it's not a limiting thing at all, and individualism is greatly encouraged. grade advancement is based on age, not teeth, but a lot of rudolph steiner's and anthroposophy's theories can sound whacko......but if you actually pay attention to them, they do make a lot of sense. it's the same sort of philosophy as macrobiotic farming--the belief that yes, everything in the universe is connected and so are we.

i'm not attacking, but i wanted to put my point of view in here, since waldorf school was probably the best thing i could possibly have done at that age.

[mandolyn]

blanche, yay for pep talks and good days! sounds like he really is a smartie, and "gets it". good to hear teach is a good one, too.

i was a serial daydreamer. i honestly don't know how i passed any of my math/science classes.

and i hated school too. but more because of classmates-from-HELL, not so much the teachers. despite some pretty fiercesome hair-pullers (this was back in the day, pre-lawsuit-frenzy america, mind you.)
luckily i was blessed with more than a few good teachers, though, who made up for all the bad 'uns.

freckle, i suspect danny's falling-out with english teacher at the end of last year was based on his forgetting to hand in assignments also. i chose to believe him and went to bat for him. but he knows full well, if i see a hint of that happening again, it's punishment time, plain and simple. "legitamate" B's and C's are one thing. but getting poor grades for forgetfulness and sloppiness, i have zero tolerance for. i'm sure many of you will disagree with me. what can i say, this one issues pushes my harpy button.

um, wait, about the "abroad" issue .... who the hell said anything about PARIS?! i was thinking more like ... MONTREAL or TORONTO!

[pepper]

i LOATHED school. really, really hated it, right up through highschool.
i read faster and better than the other kids 'cause my hippie parents didn't give me any television, and i was against the man 'cause of my hippie parents and i dressed funny 'cause of my hippie parents. i was SO tormented by the other kids and so bored in class. and i had so many icky teachers too.

that homogenizing of the children's art is exactly what they do in Waldorf school. no reading until children are seven either. waldorf grade advancement is based on when their teeth come in too. so weird.

[freckleface2727]

so many of us here now had horrible scarring experiences w/ female kindergarten teachers...

leads me to deduce that mayhaps That causes Feminism?! j/k !

if only it were that simple, but really, "that woman" was at least for me, the first non-blood-related Female Authority Figure in my life, and I didn't like the control she had over me or others, and so I sought to define my own authority by challenging her; as did you morning, and you too polly.

probly I'm just talkin' smack here bc of my current state of muddled mind, but it Does kinda make ya think !

[mornington]

I got sent to the principles office for daring to ask for *gasp* left-handed scissors. I also got in trouble for reading too fast. Apparently you're not supposed to learn to read until you're six and five-year-olds don't pull those kind of tricks. Although the best was the teacher who made you go ask to be excuse to go blow your nose. And put your hand up before you sneezed. She got fired for slapping a kid.

mando mando let him gooooo. I'm with freckle. danny's a good, mature kid already. And paris is seriously excellent. and travel broadens the mind.

[pollystyrene]

Did we have the same teacher, freckle? There was a kid who was in my kindergarten class (who was a classmate of mine all the way through elementary, jr. high, high school and he even went to the same college I did my first year- he wanted to marry me in 3rd grade ) and I think he had a little speech impediment, and there was a girl in the class named "Brianne" and he pronounced her name like "Brain" one time and she blew up at him. I remember sitting there, thinking, "I think he just can't say the name, he wasn't trying to be mean." My teacher was scary, too- she was somewhat older, I'm guessing but she had this dyed black hair, in these weird curls, like a psycho Scarlett O'Hara, her face was kinda shiny, like she out vaseline on it and she always wore bright fuschia colored lip stick, that, I swear, she would intentionally put on her teeth so she could stand there and lick her teeth while she talked to you. She wore really tight outfits, always in bright pink and black combinations. I don't remember her in any other color. She had those long, scary nails. She reminds me of like, a fading starlet, like Norma Desmond.

My grandma was a kindergarten teacher, and I think she was really shocked by this woman- when I told her there was no piano in the room and we didn't sing, she was just aghast. This psycho would play a record of Disney's Cinderella soundtrack EVERY day while we sat with our heads down- to this day, I feel the urge to kill, kill, kill if I hear any music from Cinderella.

[freckleface2727]

blanche I'm going to pull w/ the good teacher theory, and hope with you that she is one.
that she bothered to notify you at all bodes positivley to me, bc so often the teachers are just too overwhelmed to notice anything that's not a major disciplinary problem. seems she is on the ball and actually Cares.
I'd talk to her and see what all of you together brainstorming can't come up with, even like maybe giving him a wee "study buddy", a quieter or more focused buddy to help him stay on task?
my frecklette got an abominal 9 weeks progress report bc she's been Doing her homework ( I witness it every night) but just not turning it in.
grrr. she says she just doesn't think about it at the time and seeing the other kids around her turning Theirs in doesn't register either. I Think she's discovered boys & Friends and is distracted by it. and she's still prolifically writing her stories and now poetry too, and how do you stop a kid from That?? not like you can take away paper and pencil


Ohhlala Danny!!!!!!!! I remember a field trip in 1st yr (my only as it turns out) French to the Art Institute in Chic to look at french impressionist paintings. we stopped and got crossaints & cafe' for the ride into town.
it took me another 15 or so years to get to Paris itself, but let him gooo Mandi if he gets the chance.
by his Sr Yr he'll be (close your eyes) MUCH Older. he's such a fantastically amazing & good kid. (who I (really want to betroth to my frecklette. seriously. I Do.)

polly:
I had an uber sucky 'garten teacher too.
she used to spank my friend scotty Every Damn Day (scotty was special needs but high functioning; this was before the days (1975) of seperate classes for that level) for climbing up on the desks. scotty was My Friend and it pissed me off bc it wasn't fair. so finally one day I'd had enough and spoke out to her against it (she'd also already had my older bro & sis & my mom worked at the school as a lunch lady so we were a well-known-family there) & I got sent to the Principal's Office.
at the ~Tender Age of =5=~ raging against the machine.
she eventually moved up to teaching hs and was much much better. some people should just stay away from small kids. and dogs. (she always reminded me of vampira. dark hair, super skinny, freaky long blood red nails, and creepy.)

(when I look back now, I Did know everything I needed to know in Kindergarten. that book (which I've never actually read) was Right! social work is where I am headed. wow. crazi realisation.)



pepper: so did you Talk to the sitter?
I love your phone tree idea, esp if you said your building is a parents co op? I don't understand what you mean by that exactly?
I'm really glad your boy is ok and wasn't scared.

(((((((pepper & boy child)))))))

it does get better, and then it gets worse again, and Then it gets better once more , chin up!

[pollystyrene]

...a good teacher will recognize that that's a skill also, and will harness, guide and nuture it.

*delurks*

You hope so- I had an evil, evil kindergarten teacher who seemingly tried to squash every bit of natural creativity out of me (and the other students, she was just more successful with them)- everyone's art projects had assigned colors, so everyone's looked identical (I know there's value in making kids follow directions, but you don't apply that to artwork, you just don't); none of my daily work got hung up because I went a little out of the lines, only the major projects did get hung up, and I'm sure it was only because everyone else's was hung up. It was a terrible way to start my school career, and I think it was the foundation for all my self-doubt. Around the time I was in jr. high, she got fired for talking about her political beliefs to some older kids and for digging her talon-like nails into a kid's head when he wasn't behaving. Ha!

Good luck with yours, blanche- I was a daydreamer in school, too and I think it was caused by a combination of being under-challenged and depressed. It's probably a little early for a depression diagnosis, but I think I got depressed, ovewhelmed and went into like this shut-down mode and all 13 years of school were just hell for me.

[mandolyn]

blanche, i would ask how much "free" time the kids have each day? then explain to little Deveraux that that's the time for him to "play". but work time is for work time. and even if he gets his assignments done ahead of time, he can read or color or whatever else the teacher deems appropriate for that time. it's a good lesson in responsibility and self-regulation. (k. i totally made up "self regulation", hoping you know what i mean, cuz i'm braindead today.)

too cute that he's so creative! a good teacher will recognize that that's a skill also, and will harness, guide and nuture it. again, though, there's a time and place.

my "bad mother award" from the past month includes telling my high schooler that it would be fine with me to slack off in french class, if he wanted to. the french teacher knew - by the 4th class - that he was ahead of everyone, and asked him if he wanted to fast-foward a year (and a credit - we're doing credits now!) to french 2. she left it up to him. i left it up to him. (see above.) he chose to accelerate.

i couldn't be prouder.

except, i think this will mean he'll probably be eligible for a trip abroad during senior year. which is probably what is motivating him. believe me, this kid is a-yearning. ack.

freckle, how ya doing? thinking about you non-stop, chickie.

[mornington]

I'm with moxie - my brother was the same way, and I found first grade unchallenging to the point of tedium. although, he's six - he will learn. Is there any indication he's ahead of his age group in anything - reading, for example?

[moxiegirl]

Our godson (which is funny, b/c we're all atheists...but you get the hint), is also a very bright boy with a very active imagination. his 2nd grade teacher finally figured out he wasn't challenged enough in school, and kept up pace with him, sending extra work home (suggested activities) and putting him in higher levels of math and reading in school. Totally did the trick! You might see if the teacher can give him more challenging (read- interesting) work?

[pepper]

i know, i just don't get it. she picked him up from school four days last week, i talked to her the night before, left a message the day of and .... *poof* totally forgot all about him. she's really reliable too.
my little was just fine, he's kind of oblivious to that kind of thing, so long as there are toys he's a happy camper.
hells, childcare is such a giant crazy drag. i'm going to add every neighbour i have to that pick up list, that way they have a few more numbers to call in case something like this ever happens again.
i've been thinking about emergency contact numbers anyhow, like a phone tree for the building i live in. it's a parents co-op so we should have some kind of info for eachother for emergencies and such. this is just what i need to get on it.

*frazzled*

[freckleface2727]

forgot ?

how do you "forget" a kid, esp a kid I'm assuming she's taken care of on a regular basis?

I'd be going nuts too! and probably scouting out other sitters too.
how awful.

was your kidlet ok? not freaked or scared or anything I hope.

yikes. childcare is Always so difficult.



(((((((((pepper & kid))))))))))

[pepper]

!!@#$@#!&%^(()*!!!

my babysitter bailed on me this afternoon.

i got home at 6:45, the daycare closes at 5:30. there was a message on my machine at 5:35 from the daycare saying, "we still have your child and we want to go home now." and then another one from a baffled neighbour saying that he had gotten a call and had my kidlet.
can i tell you, the heart attack! i had a total freak out.
she forgot. just plain forgot about him. i talked to her last night and left her a message today (that she got) and she just blanked it out. OMG, the absolute feeling of helpless terror. holy crap.
they call child services if you don't show up after a while.
ugh, still shaking. i might sleep in his bed with him tonight, i'm that weirded out.

[freckleface2727]

I am actually ridiculously excited about Halloween this year, bc frecklette said last year was her last year for going trick-or-treating, and so I told her that from now on, we'd let her have a friend stay over and we'd dress up & pass out candy & watch scary movies all night.

all the years before now, the mr has been gone or working and so I've Always been the one to take her and as silly as it sounds, really look foward to seeing the kids in their costumes at the door.
I will also probably dress our poor harrassed golden retriever in his Darth Vader puppy costume and am actively encouraging the spider webs to gather on my front porch right now for authenticity.

freck's school will probably let the kids wear silly hats or something, but actual Parties are a no-go.
everything is so damned P C now. and yes, why NOT let all the kids wear costumes if you're going to let Some? at what age do these people decide kids are no longer Kids ?

pepper: bears & bugs? how goes either/or?

[pepper]

ha ha, burning is going a bit too far. hot laundering and lice shampoo works great. but he didn't have any, i was just making sure if any rode home with him i'd see them on his scalp. there's no where for them to hide now, he's got about an millimeter of hair.
the bears. well, we're on the edge of a small wooded area and really not too far from the mountain. they aren't that unusual here but still, the lacadasical attitude about them has me miffed. i mean, i'm scared! i sure won't be walking anywhere near those woods, nevermind the route straight through that i a lot of the kids take to and from school, yikes! very, very scary mama bear!

[freckleface2727]

BEARS ?!
like the kind that forrage through the forrest and eat things and hybernate in the winter?
bears belong in the woods, not in your schools!

as to the lice thing : short hair is always best when there is a threat.

also, boiling any linens and (clothing) things when you think they might have been exposed, altho, if they do get them, I'm pretty sure they still recommend just (burning) getting rid of all of that stuf bc they are nasty little buggers. when I was a teachers aid years ago we have some kids that chronically got them and it was an ugly cycle. RidX will work as a de-licer, and is available at the drug store.

ack. my head is itching just thinking about it!