Well, ten days have passed and my boys are still okay. Tired, and sometimes overwhelmed but okay.
I am getting uniforms done although I must admit to a few days of them coming straight out of the dryer and onto bodies. Ironing never was a strong suite and I am trying to do it so the boys learn good presentation but some days are just a bit too short on time.
Lunches are another thing. I am so used to doing hot lunches, sometimes admittedly left overs and some just pasta with peas, corn and salmon thrown in but still hot. Making sandwiches every day gets a bit boring. I am trying to add variety in other ways.
On Tuesdays we are doing a Trashy Treat Tuesday lunch box. I wouldn't normally give my boys any of those wrapped bars, muesli or not, and definitely not lollies or flavoured drinks. We drink lots of water at home. Not juice, and only occasionally a glass of milk! So far for last Tuesday they had LCM bars, cold pizza, chocolate custard tubs, and a little pack of lollies. Their drink was a 100% juice drink. I couldn't bring myself to giving them a 35% fruit drink. Yuk! This week it will be a muffin bar, lollies, vanilla custard tubs, pizza and strawberry milk poppers.
I figure this way there are some limits on how much junk creeps into their lunch boxes due to peer pressure and herd mentality. :-)
DS2 (10, almost 11 yo) is probably the one having the hardest time. He has asked every night if he has to go to school tomorrow. He doesn't want to keep going. And this weekend he had a big sobbing cry on my lap. I know it will be a big deal for him. So many changes and he tears up easily anyway. The male teacher tells him there is no need for tears (which is almost exactly the words I use, so that isn't an issue) but I do wonder how DS2 is going to go long term. And will his teacher lose patience with him if he doesn't settle?
In other activities his tears have gradually gone after a week or two and he has gotten on with enjoying the experience. I do hope he does cope with this big change in our lives with time. I am very much looking out to make sure he is okay. I know the little bird needs to leave the nest sometime and I have told him I am here for hugs anytime. I just don't want to push him too hard and have him go splat! IYKWIM!
This kid is the one who still wants his teddy and has big long cuddles. He also doesn't like change and gets upset at even the thought of it. I want him to learn to flow with change a bit more and to not get overly stressed. Time will only tell if public school is the way for him to learn these skills.
Best wishes
Jen
Aah, Jen, I am really feeling for you and your boys at the moment. I hope it settles down. Maybe if your 10 yr old finds a good friend at school it will give him something to look forward to each day? Alternatively do they have somewhere quiet he can escape to at lunchtime? I know my ds1 spent a lot of time in the library and the computer lab.
ReplyDeleteHey Jen, we have Junkfood Friday for the same reason! I figure limiting junk to once a week is a reasonable compromise! And I'm hearing you on the lunches - that has been the hardest part of school for me. We try wraps, cold pasta with peas and corn, vegemite and cheese and pizza scrolls, and thick foccaccia style pizza for variations on the sarnie..
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear your wee boy having a hard time. Lucky he has a kind mum to support him.. I second scimum's suggestions - he may find buddies quicker in a small group situation. Are there any lunchtime clubs he could join? Hope things are looking up soon. It is such a huge leap he is taking, and the older they are, it seems the longer it takes to find that little group of 'kindred spirits'. I found obsessively hanging round other school mums, making friends with them and organising play dates helped too.
All the best xx