Temper Temper

When I returned home from dropping off the kids at school on Wednesday morning, I told Jeff that I was betting that they'd watch Henry's class and be sure to try to get Henry on some infractions so as to not take responsibility for the morning's incident. That's pretty much what happened.

I picked up the kids. Miss R was happy to see me. She then asked to go find Henry. We did. Miss Valerie (whom I like very much) said that they'd taken the hitting boy aside, then made him apologize to Henry and give him a hug. She also said that the hitting boy is 3, so they'll be moving him to the 3 year old room. I said, "Henry turns 3 at the end of the month. Will he end up in the same classroom?" If the aggressive child's behavior doesn't do a 180, I don't want Henry around him for three reasons. First and foremost, I don't want Henry to get hurt. Second, I don't want Henry to be fearful of coming to school. And third, I don't want Henry to emulate bad behavior.

So then I talked with the developmental coordinator. She wasn't able to watch the class much as she'd said she'd do because they were "short staffed." She said that for the couple minutes she did observe, the boys were very rowdy and possessive of toys. Henry was possessive of a drum. I just knew that they'd try to slight Henry in some way to make the day's event seem like every kid does it, even mine. I said, "Look, I know that kids can be pushy and possessive, but the child who attacked Henry was qualitatively different than what I have witnessed other kids do. Yes, kids push, but this kid was extremely aggressive. Moreover, I hear that he is getting sent to the 3 year old room. Henry turns 3 at the end of the month. Will they be in the same class? Because I don't want that." She said that because Henry isn't potty trained and the other child isn't potty trained, they'd end up in the same class. I said, "Well that's a problem." I made sure she knew that I was unhappy about today's events and the situation in the hopes that they'll take it seriously. If they don't, we'll have to find another school. Given that the teachers (four of them) weren't watching the kids and they knew in advance that the hitting child has a history of problem behavior, they are liable. And I'm so vexed that I'd take action.

I took Henry and Miss R to Grammy and Poppy's house. They watched TV and had dinner. Then, Grammy and Poppy brought them home. Henry had Poppy's DVD of Peter Pan and didn't want to let it go, which resulted in a major meltdown. The kids were obviously tired. Jeff was trying to finish our taxes. Henry calmed down while I was on the telephone with Aunt Erin. He told her about how he wanted to watch Peter Pan. I got him some apple juice in a box, provided that he and Miss R sat on the floor. Then, it was time for bed. Jeff got the kids to sleep while I fed Baby A who had stirred. While I took care of Baby A, I watched two episodes of Super Nanny. Very informative.

Tomorrow, I travel to Chicago early in the morning. I return Saturday night. I have a MAPOR board meeting to attend. It is going to be a quick trip. I'm meeting with a colleague for dinner. Then, the board meeting is all day Saturday. Then, I come back home. But I return to Chicago in mid-May. I think that this trip makes it four visits in one year. I'm hoping that the house is still standing when I return and that the kids haven't driven Jeff crazy.