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....

when I'm big...

an afternoon with Calvin's godparents

We're walking home from school today and Calvin declares, "When I'm big I'm going to be an artist..." and then after a short consideration, "or an astronaut".
To which Zack replied, "I'm going to be a scientist."

that's that then.

earning potential

We shop at a local grocery store - Sainsbury's. It's a huge chain in Britain. Our local shop has a community feel about it, beyond the soulless black plastic crates that mark Sainsbury's national fresh produce sections, and the awful silver shelving that is the same. We go in and out daily picking up a few items. Zack (now 6 3/4yrs) and Calvin (4 1/4yrs) used to be on first name terms with the security guard at the front door, until they changed staff. Today while we were packing our bags, the boys were running hither and thither collecting blue shopping baskets and stacking them up.
When we left, Zack piped up saying, "When I'm big, I want to be a Sainsbury's man. I want to do the packets."
Calvin chimed in saying, "When I'm big, I also want to be a Sainsbury's man. But I want to do the boxes."
Keith couldn't let it go, and so began a long discussion with Zack on earnings. What does he think a man at Sainsbury's earns ? etc.
Zack started off saying that he must work very hard if he wants to earn £500/day at Sainsbury's. Keith said he very much doubted that the man at Sainsbury's earned £500/day.
I wasn't privy to the rest of the conversation, chasing Calvin down the snowy pavement, but I bet it was interesting. I wonder what Zack thinks ?