Putting My Foot Down.

Whenever I ask the kids about their day at school, I usually get a shrugged shoulder or “It was good!” that you’d expect from a bunch of boys.

“Did anything interesting happen?”
“Nope.”

But I have ways of discovering what’s been going on – and that’s a fancy thing called “the power of observation”.

Maymo, in particular, gives away the lesson plan from the day by his actions and words.

A few days ago the kindergarten class was learning about environmental stuff – cleaning up after yourself, basically – and I learned this not because he told me, but because he repeatedly told me not to be a “litterbug”.

He said this while we were driving. When we got into the house. When I was making lunch. When he went upstairs to wash his face. And on and on. Just random reminders not to be a litterbug.

It was the same when he was learning how to interact nicely with people. I got a lot of interpersonal ‘tips’ that he picked up at school that had nothing to do with anything going on, but which he felt compelled to share anyway.

It was the same when he was learning about healthy foods. He asked me whether every single food on his plate was “healthy?” and then moved on to nearly every food he’s ever heard of or eaten. Repeat daily for a few days.

On and on.

Middle One is a bit different in his methods but he pretty much does the same thing – a frequent comment or statement that seems to have nothing whatsoever to do with anything. When I ask him, though, he’ll say, “Oh yeah, we learned about X a few days ago!”

So, when both Middle One and Maymo began miming that they were trapped in a box, I suspected that a presentation had happened at school within the past few days. And that it was a very good presentation as far as they were concerned.

I can handle manners and anti-littering lessons. I can handle social skills and new songs. But A MIME? The school has gone too far on this one. They’ve crossed a line that should never be crossed without express, written permission from parents.