I don't like this gig of being a teacher and a mum of the same school. (Yes, I will have to "suck it up princess", as at this stage I have no intention to change as it is just so convenient to have us at the same school)
Firstly, it makes it far too easy for people to tell me about the naughty/bad/inappropriate things my little man does. It is also far too easy for little people to do the same thing. Take for instance the little girl who this afternoon propped herself down on the grass where I was sitting watching Callum at Auskick. She proceeded to tell me what a naughty boy Callum was, how he was always hurting his friends in class. She wanted to know where he was, as if checking that he might hear her. (He did come up and ask me why I was talking to her.)
Then there is the problem of seeing children treat your child in a way that makes your blood boil. Callum was on the football field, having a moment, when two boys (one in yr 4 & one in yr 5) thought it would be funny to jump over him, but give him a kick as they went. Not once, but at least three times. Knowing full well that I was sitting there, in my uniform just as they were in their school uniform. I know the two boys, so they know I am a teacher at the school.
It makes my blood boil because it's an after school activity on the school grounds. I'm in a tricky position - can I really reprimand kids for what I think is inappropriate behaviour towards my kid as a parent or as a teacher. I'd already reprimanded one of them for his use of inappropriate language - perhaps that's why he took it out on my kid?? Also, being a teacher at the school and knowing these children, I also know of their parents. They would have no problem making a complaint about me speaking to their child - as either a parent or a teacher.
I'm sure there will be many more times that I will feel like this. It's just another thing to add to my list of things I need to let go to the keeper!
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Hypochondria at its best
Little man was unwell over the weekend and led to him having 2 days off school this week. On Monday, we had a doctor's appointment to just check that we were doing all we could to get well again.
Luckily we were able to see our family doctor, who has been Callum's doctor since he was 5 months old. Dr Chris came out and called Callum's name. As he walked in to the office, Callum announces "I not feeling well." He takes the chair closest to the table (he usually makes a beeline for the toy box and the train in it). It went something like this.
Dr Chris: So you're not feeling well?
Callum: No I have a bad belly.
Dr: What about your ears? Any sore ears?
C: No, but this one on the other side is sore.
Dr: Ok well I can check that. (Looking over at me, 1st I'd heard of it) What about your throat?
C: Yes my throat is sore too. (Again Dr looking at me, shaking my head, gives a knowing wink)
Dr: Ok, let's take your temperature first.
C: Yes I very hot. (temp normal)
Dr: Let's check your ears. (all clear) And your throat - say ah! Yep stick your tongue out. (all clear, no redness) Ok, can you hop up on the table so I can check your tummy?
C: Ok. (leaps up on table)
Dr: I'm just going to lift your t-shirt and feel your belly. (Callum is in fits of laughter) Are you ticklish?
C: Yes (imagine child trying to lie very still, he looks stiff with his hands by his side but absolutely giggling his head off)
Absolutely hilarious watching Callum giggle and try and stay still, tummy all feels normal.
Dr: You can hop down now. (still giggling madly, practically falls off table)
C: Hey, that table was up too high
As Dr Chris and I sum up what to do, Callum decides to introduce his imaginary penguin friend who "beaks" Dr Chris. More fits of laughter.
I love that we have been able to have the same doctor for so long for Callum. When he was little we had to police grip him for the doctor to do anything. Now he likes to have all the possible medical tests he can - ears, throat and chest.
Very happy with his visit, Callum waved goodbye to Dr Chris, walks out to the waiting room and loudly announces "I all better now." As we move to the counter, one gentleman replies "I want that doctor."
Luckily we were able to see our family doctor, who has been Callum's doctor since he was 5 months old. Dr Chris came out and called Callum's name. As he walked in to the office, Callum announces "I not feeling well." He takes the chair closest to the table (he usually makes a beeline for the toy box and the train in it). It went something like this.
Dr Chris: So you're not feeling well?
Callum: No I have a bad belly.
Dr: What about your ears? Any sore ears?
C: No, but this one on the other side is sore.
Dr: Ok well I can check that. (Looking over at me, 1st I'd heard of it) What about your throat?
C: Yes my throat is sore too. (Again Dr looking at me, shaking my head, gives a knowing wink)
Dr: Ok, let's take your temperature first.
C: Yes I very hot. (temp normal)
Dr: Let's check your ears. (all clear) And your throat - say ah! Yep stick your tongue out. (all clear, no redness) Ok, can you hop up on the table so I can check your tummy?
C: Ok. (leaps up on table)
Dr: I'm just going to lift your t-shirt and feel your belly. (Callum is in fits of laughter) Are you ticklish?
C: Yes (imagine child trying to lie very still, he looks stiff with his hands by his side but absolutely giggling his head off)
Absolutely hilarious watching Callum giggle and try and stay still, tummy all feels normal.
Dr: You can hop down now. (still giggling madly, practically falls off table)
C: Hey, that table was up too high
As Dr Chris and I sum up what to do, Callum decides to introduce his imaginary penguin friend who "beaks" Dr Chris. More fits of laughter.
I love that we have been able to have the same doctor for so long for Callum. When he was little we had to police grip him for the doctor to do anything. Now he likes to have all the possible medical tests he can - ears, throat and chest.
Very happy with his visit, Callum waved goodbye to Dr Chris, walks out to the waiting room and loudly announces "I all better now." As we move to the counter, one gentleman replies "I want that doctor."
Thursday, February 26, 2015
That's not living!
It is a good thing that little man is so cute! His one liners are certainly keeping the staff entertained at school. I learned a little story about him during the week, I would have just died of embarrassment but his teacher thinks he was cute. The class was sitting on the carpet going through their morning routine, when Callum announced (rather loudly) "Not this again! This isn't living, I want to live!!"
He really doesn't watch a lot of TV, but the little he does watch sticks with him. He is quoting a scene in "Wall-E". Wall-E must have made quite an impression on him. Just before school started this year, Callum began saying "What the?". It was never followed by another word (thankfully) and we wondered where it had come from. Then watching Wall-E over the holidays, we heard it - when Mary's hover chair gets switched off and she sees the actual ship.
I much prefer his scripting of Wall-E. We got "Mr Popper's Penguins" for Christmas. He loves to script the scene where the penguin comes out of the bathroom it has been swimming in, and poops on Jim Carey's character.
What is it about boys and toilet humor??!!
He really doesn't watch a lot of TV, but the little he does watch sticks with him. He is quoting a scene in "Wall-E". Wall-E must have made quite an impression on him. Just before school started this year, Callum began saying "What the?". It was never followed by another word (thankfully) and we wondered where it had come from. Then watching Wall-E over the holidays, we heard it - when Mary's hover chair gets switched off and she sees the actual ship.
I much prefer his scripting of Wall-E. We got "Mr Popper's Penguins" for Christmas. He loves to script the scene where the penguin comes out of the bathroom it has been swimming in, and poops on Jim Carey's character.
What is it about boys and toilet humor??!!
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
It's gonna be a long year
It's amazing that out of 700 odd kids in a shed for assembly, I can recognise one voice! Mind you, everyone else was pretty quiet when that one little voice decided to yell out. I can't even remember what he was yelling out, such was my embarrassment that all my colleagues would recognise that one voice too.
It's going to take a while for me to be able to sit at the back of the assembly, I just can't drag myself away yet to not be able to see him. (I sit on the other side of the shed, so that's a start!) It's going to take me a long time (let's be honest, I will NEVER achieve this) to not worry about what other people think, particularly about my son. In his short time on this planet (and my relatively short time as a mother) we have already had to deal with our fair share of people's uneducated opinions about our child - about how they think they are observing a naughty child and how we should raise him.
So not only is it going to be a huge learning curve for my boy, but one for me also. Letting him be his own person and realising that these things will happen as they make up the beautiful person he is.
I spoke to my husband about assembly this arvo - I wish I could have his outlook on life. I told him all about my embarrassment and how he had to be spoken to a few times. My husband's response - "Did he stand up and expose himself?" Me - "God NO!" Husband - "Well he doesn't take after his father, nothing to worry about." WHAT?? I've been married to this man for 22 years, it's the first I've heard of it! Lord help me, if that ever happens, I'll not only be down the back of the shed, I'll probably be half way down the road, and I won't know a single thing about what anyone else thinks! Bahahahahaha! :)
It's going to take a while for me to be able to sit at the back of the assembly, I just can't drag myself away yet to not be able to see him. (I sit on the other side of the shed, so that's a start!) It's going to take me a long time (let's be honest, I will NEVER achieve this) to not worry about what other people think, particularly about my son. In his short time on this planet (and my relatively short time as a mother) we have already had to deal with our fair share of people's uneducated opinions about our child - about how they think they are observing a naughty child and how we should raise him.
So not only is it going to be a huge learning curve for my boy, but one for me also. Letting him be his own person and realising that these things will happen as they make up the beautiful person he is.
I spoke to my husband about assembly this arvo - I wish I could have his outlook on life. I told him all about my embarrassment and how he had to be spoken to a few times. My husband's response - "Did he stand up and expose himself?" Me - "God NO!" Husband - "Well he doesn't take after his father, nothing to worry about." WHAT?? I've been married to this man for 22 years, it's the first I've heard of it! Lord help me, if that ever happens, I'll not only be down the back of the shed, I'll probably be half way down the road, and I won't know a single thing about what anyone else thinks! Bahahahahaha! :)
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
What a week!
So last week, like so many other children across Queensland, my little man started Prep. He was so excited, we were so excited. Callum completed a 'Prep for Prep' course just two weeks before school started. (He blitzed that). He wasn't too keen on photos before we went to school, but he relented and let us get a few. He just wanted to get going.
He had packed a lovely gift box for his teacher - full of teacher essentials - hair ties for little girls, clips to hold pages of work, pens, bandaids for those little emergencies, post it notes (the heart shaped ones because he LOVES his teacher) and flavoured coffee. We had to deliver that straight away.
A little wait in Mum's classroom and then it was time to go and line up. Callum took off straight away with his teacher and left his parents behind. He put all his things away and then went to the carpet to read a book. Not a tear in sight.
He continues to happily leave his mother far behind when he walks to his class in the morning, completes all his jobs and sends me on my way. There are a few little people who are upset when their parents drop them off in the morning. Callum asks me why they aren't excited to be at big school like he is.
He received two playground awards in the first week. We were thrilled. And then on Saturday I checked my work emails. There, staring back at me from the screen was an email from his teacher sent Friday afternoon. Apparently little man has been lashing out when sitting on the carpet, pushing, laying on the classmates around him. I wondered why he walked out with a beanbag cube the other day when I picked him up at home time. Apparently he has been given the cube to try and keep his hands busy and to himself, so far it hadn't been working.
My week was crushed! We've had a discussion, told little man that he needs to use his words and ask to use his rolling pin or big smash cushions when he needs that extra sensory input. He is also under threat of losing his iPad for the weekend if I get another email like that this Friday. (So far, he tells me - 2 days - that he has been using the cube and being a good boy.)
But, apart from that hiccup, it was a great first week. He is still so excited to go and comes home excited about his day. We have a challenge at our school to ask our children "What did you learn today?" I ask this of Callum and his response is - "I learned lots of stuff." So then I have to ask him to be more specific and choose one thing that he can tell me about. According to Callum the only work he does is trains. (I sure hope that isn't true, he used to say the same thing about Kindy and I was assured that he did lots of other stuff.)
He had packed a lovely gift box for his teacher - full of teacher essentials - hair ties for little girls, clips to hold pages of work, pens, bandaids for those little emergencies, post it notes (the heart shaped ones because he LOVES his teacher) and flavoured coffee. We had to deliver that straight away.
A little wait in Mum's classroom and then it was time to go and line up. Callum took off straight away with his teacher and left his parents behind. He put all his things away and then went to the carpet to read a book. Not a tear in sight.
He continues to happily leave his mother far behind when he walks to his class in the morning, completes all his jobs and sends me on my way. There are a few little people who are upset when their parents drop them off in the morning. Callum asks me why they aren't excited to be at big school like he is.
He received two playground awards in the first week. We were thrilled. And then on Saturday I checked my work emails. There, staring back at me from the screen was an email from his teacher sent Friday afternoon. Apparently little man has been lashing out when sitting on the carpet, pushing, laying on the classmates around him. I wondered why he walked out with a beanbag cube the other day when I picked him up at home time. Apparently he has been given the cube to try and keep his hands busy and to himself, so far it hadn't been working.
My week was crushed! We've had a discussion, told little man that he needs to use his words and ask to use his rolling pin or big smash cushions when he needs that extra sensory input. He is also under threat of losing his iPad for the weekend if I get another email like that this Friday. (So far, he tells me - 2 days - that he has been using the cube and being a good boy.)
But, apart from that hiccup, it was a great first week. He is still so excited to go and comes home excited about his day. We have a challenge at our school to ask our children "What did you learn today?" I ask this of Callum and his response is - "I learned lots of stuff." So then I have to ask him to be more specific and choose one thing that he can tell me about. According to Callum the only work he does is trains. (I sure hope that isn't true, he used to say the same thing about Kindy and I was assured that he did lots of other stuff.)
Friday, October 31, 2014
I have an email to write!
 |
| supermarket gingerbread train |
 |
| LEGO monster train |
Callum could not go past this stand. In fact, I was able to go back outside and get a trolley while he stood there, lovingly holding the box and examining every detail. "Please Mummy can we get the Lego Monster Train?" We don't celebrate Halloween in our house, so I was happy that he wanted to make the LEGO train. It does look similar.
"We have to wait until it is dark Mummy, it's the scary night." Nothing gets past this kid. We have settled that we will make it tomorrow, when we have more time. We have read through all the instructions and are pretty impressed that this kit comes with a tray to help keep the gingerbread pieces in the right position. Something that the Christmas train kit did not.
I have an email to send to the Create a Treat company. They don't even have this train on their website in the Halloween section (it wasn't in Valentine, Christmas, Easter or Frosted Cookies either!). We know about the Christmas train, but I need to let them know, that for the train obsessed Junior Master Chef, we need a train to cover all the special days.
They could just have a plain train and we could decorate it ourselves for each holiday. January - Australia Day, February - Valentine's Day, March - St Patrick's Day, April - Easter, September - birthday, October - Monster Lego, December - Christmas!
I could become their best customer!
Thursday, October 30, 2014
What a cutie!
What wonderful friends I have who have been so supportive (and a little outraged as well) about my last post.
When we return from Kindy our first stop is always the Library station. I love that he loves books. We usually read a few then select one to borrow. (That might be the next staff complaint - usually the students are limited to a set number of books they can borrow, Callum borrows lots of books, far more than the specified limit) He found a penguin one straight away "How did that get there?" at the top of his lungs - he returned it at his library lesson this week. Then he read a dinosaur book, he couldn't borrow that one - too scary. He settled on a train book - surprise, surprise.
We then moved on to the DP's office where little man put on quite a performance. He happily chortled away about trains, when a friend told him that her brother drives a train he replied with "I don't believe it!" (It really is hard to convey the way he says these things in printed word - just know it was cute)
He had already had his marshmallows (weekly treat) and had also scored a lolly ring. When he was offered another sweet treat, he replied " I think I had enough." He enjoyed looking through the treats to see what was available, but didn't want anymore.
He asked to look at trains on the computer. He happily stood and watched (little arms moving like the chugging of big engine wheels) and then happily sat and watched in the chair when it was offered to him.
He then sat in my lap, happily announcing "Mummy I love you."
He is such a cutie!!
When we return from Kindy our first stop is always the Library station. I love that he loves books. We usually read a few then select one to borrow. (That might be the next staff complaint - usually the students are limited to a set number of books they can borrow, Callum borrows lots of books, far more than the specified limit) He found a penguin one straight away "How did that get there?" at the top of his lungs - he returned it at his library lesson this week. Then he read a dinosaur book, he couldn't borrow that one - too scary. He settled on a train book - surprise, surprise.
We then moved on to the DP's office where little man put on quite a performance. He happily chortled away about trains, when a friend told him that her brother drives a train he replied with "I don't believe it!" (It really is hard to convey the way he says these things in printed word - just know it was cute)
He had already had his marshmallows (weekly treat) and had also scored a lolly ring. When he was offered another sweet treat, he replied " I think I had enough." He enjoyed looking through the treats to see what was available, but didn't want anymore.
He asked to look at trains on the computer. He happily stood and watched (little arms moving like the chugging of big engine wheels) and then happily sat and watched in the chair when it was offered to him.
He then sat in my lap, happily announcing "Mummy I love you."
He is such a cutie!!
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