I woke him at 7. He watched Pink Panther. When we was done with that I said it was a big day. First thing he said to me today was “I can’t do rest time by myself!” and started crying. He calmed down quickly, and asked if he could play with his bubble timer during rest time. I found it and we took it. He did fine on the way to school, although as we got near the school he stopped and asked if I could pick him up at lunch.
Once there we talked to Marion. He wasn’t happy, so I took him inside. We timed his timer (a minute) and talked about how he could time rest time. And we read a book about a girl who takes a squash to school. Reia had joined us, and brought over a book about seeds. I said we should be outside so moved out there and sat on the ground. Reia lost interest, but August and I read the seed book. He was nice and calm now. I took him over to Andrea. He had decided he doesn’t want a mat during rest time and asked her to not give him one. I told her about the timer, and she asked August if he could show it to her. He agreed, and I was able to leave just before 8:30.
I told him I’d check in around 10:30, and bring a treat for him after rest time. I ran that by Marion. As I was on my way home I realized I didn’t have my watch. Oops. I was sure he was going to be excited that he got to keep it for a couple hours.
I rode my bike back and checked on him at 10:30. He was chewing on his timer. I didn’t see what he’d been doing, or whether he was just walking around, but he seemed happy. He showed me my watch. He told me he’d been exercising inside and outside and had made it to 30 minutes. He also said he had been letting other people play with it on his wrist. He was fine giving it back to me though. I checked in with him and reminded him I’d bring a treat after rest time. He reminded me of the candy place in the mall. He then said “So come back after rest time! Leave now.” So he was doing okay.
I went home and had lunch and worked, then I biked over to the mall. Ran out of time to get a haircut as I stood in line at the pharmacy to get a teething gel to see if that will help. At the candy stand I got bulk candy and got some chocolate covered pretzels, vanilla and chocolate disk things, and rock candy.
I biked home, then drove to the school. I got to his classroom at 1:35. He was hiding behind the water cooler when I got there. I took him outside and gave himself some of the candy I got from the mall. He said he had laid down and played with his timer during the whole rest time. I confirmed this with Marion a few minutes later. She said he did very well. He did not, however, eat a single bite for snack or lunch. I got his lunch and he scarfed down most of the noodles and mushrooms, some of his carrot, some apple, and part of a granola bar. I asked why he didn’t eat anything. He thought about it, then, with a straight face, said, “Well, I’m always really hungry after school, so I save the food for after school.”
Dropped him off a little before 2. Their choices after rest time are apparently garden, maker space, yoga (although not today), or playing outside. Marion told him to go ask Andrea what maker space was and he was excited by her answer that “it’s a place where we make things.” So pretty sure that was going to be his choice. I also introduced the idea of tomorrow when I need to go to Jerusalem and Carly just picking him up at the end and giving him more of the treat. He seemed fine with it since a treat was involved.
I stayed in the library then picked him up at 3. Andrea told me that he was the only one that figured out how to put the flashlight back together. They also played Turtle Cards. It is a programming card game and Andrea was the turtle/computer, moving around on the floor. We sat out on the PKB bench again and he ate his mixed fruit and his bread: “I’ve been thinking bout the bread all morning.” He didn’t bring up the treat again so we didn’t have more of it.
He needed to use the bathroom so we went back in his classroom. Amelia talked to him about figuring out the flashlight. Said it was the talk of the preschool.
We then headed to the pool. He was talkative about preschool. Told me that the treats helped him make it through the day. And that there’s a girl in PKC named Anna. Carly later said it was the sister of one of her students. But it is the first kid I think he’s ever told me about that I didn’t already know. He met her during gardening time today. Ms. Anna did the gardening time. He said he ate “Kale…it’s a little spicy though…but I love it.” He also said he’d call Anna “Ms. Anna Leaf Leaf” But then said he was calling himself that. He said he hadn’t played with Reia or any other kids, but they had only had a little time on the playground and it wasn’t enough time to play with anyone. He mentioned Pink Panther and I started humming the song. He joined in and we hummed it together.
He didn’t want to get out of the pool at 4:20. He talked about loving the water. He had a great description of being both warm and cool, but I don’t remember the exact words. He had wanted to show Carly the garden and have more kale, but we forgot to do that on the way out. We went home with her and were home before 5. He was a little upset about the garden, but okay with showing her tomorrow.
He played some iPad and played GroGarden and Camping with Grandpa. Carly made him pizza with mushrooms. He asked, “After I eat pizza, can you read the two lines book…appendix.” Figured out he meant Madeline. After he ate the first piece though they did Skybrary first. Carly read Carlos Listens Up, Oliver’s Own Office, the book about the adopted girl, and Yoko Yak. He then did his 20 minutes after dinner, choosing to play one of the pirate games.
He went to the bathroom and when he was done said of pulling up his pants “Lets start practicing.” He does most of the bathroom process himself now, but often kicks off his shorts and underwear and then needs help putting them back on. We went back to the pirate game. He told me, “We need to work as a team.” A few more minutes of that then we read Madeline. He did talk me into using the iPad a little more when he wanted to play the testing game and use the combining of blocks in Toca Blocks to do so. a rather odd game, really, where I’d tease him that they were just ordinary blocks, then he’d combine them and they’d make something new.
I took him up for his bath. He made one good concoction, then a bunch of bubbles in his bath. Didn’t have to wash him much. He threw bubbles out to make bubble art, then we rinsed him. Downstairs he wanted to time me making the monsters on the monster cards. Did a few rounds of that, then checked the stopwatch on his iPad, which is up over 500 hours.
We then started reading The Scarecrow and His Servant, by Philip Pullman. August said, “Servant! That’s the word of the day!” I described a servant and August agreed he wouldn’t want to be a servant. We read about 10 pages though and he agreed that, in that situation, the boy was right to take the job of servant.
He said good night to Carly and I took him upstairs. He was singing a song that sounded like “Heads, shoulders, knees, and toes” and set to the tune of “London Bridge” and ended with the line “That’s my body”. He wanted me to sing it, but I had to convince him I didn’t know it. We tried to search for it on YouTube, but no luck. He asked me to ask his teachers about it. He wanted to watch videos about body parts and was sad when I said he couldn’t. I turned off the light and sang a couple songs and he fell asleep by 9. I waited to make sure he was asleep and fell asleep myself until Carly woke me up a bit later.