Wednesday, November 04, 2015

it never rains, but it pours.... good things

I haven't posted in ages - summer holidays were very busy and back to school in the first week of September. So much has happened it's difficult to remember the sequence. I'll dive in here...
Zack had a good Summer Camp - a week in Dorset. Calvin and I went camping which was a mixed experience because the weather was quite extreme, tho' we did have one beautiful day.
Our time away on holiday as a family was also mixed, but I'd say overall a positive one. We travelled to Slovenia with friends and their four children were a good influence on ours - showing the boys how you can 'do chores' and have responsibility without kicking up a fuss or having a tantrum because you've been told to do something. I think the peer pressure was also good because everyone had a job to do.
The plus of that is that we came home and Zack made a 'chores chart' which is stuck on the side of the fridge and everyone has jobs to do. That doesn't mean that they don't argue about doing it, or that anyone actually DOES anything, but it's a start.

Schooling:
We came back anticipating that Zack would 'phase out' of his current school and start attending the remedial school in East Finchley on a full-time basis. This only lasted for a week because we got a call from St Chris in his second week at school to say they'd like to see him for a full day - time in his 'future class' and time for an assessment. This went ahead the following day, which was all very sudden, but could not have gone better. Keith was very impressed, and we were able to spend more than 40 minutes talking to the SENCO and her 2IC.

We were offered a place, starting on 2 November, so Zack had the remainder of the half-term to 'take his leave' of St James. His departure was measured and kind - he had a chance to make individually designed biscuits for each classmate, which he loved - he was able to craft his "goodbye', his way. That was a gift, and entirely because we were given the time. I've learned a huge lesson about not rushing into things, taking action because life is unbearable, patience such an untenable request.

Zack started at St Chris on Monday. It's been "fine". But today he had a run-in with the bus driver. He wanted Zack to stay seated, with a seat-belt for the entire journey. Zack wants to be friends, he wants to interact. He wants to hang with the teens, like he does with teens who babysit, but the highschool kids on the bus don't want him to be in their faces. They moved, so he moved. Bus driver wants him to stay seated. Predicament....

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