Ouch

So R seemed happy enough when I collected him but after we dropped off his friend who needed a lift home I asked him how the meeting went and he said it was ‘a total disaster.’

When pressed for details he said that a lot of people came but they seemed to be there for the wrong reasons, i.e a place to mess around. Everyone was either talking at once or telling other people to be quite (loudly).

He asked them, as an ice breaker, to go around and describe themselves in 5 words but they didn’t get it and were describing their eye colour etc, when he said it was meant to be their personality they still didn’t get it and started to argue.

One kid was really being a pain so R told him to leave. He did, but came rushing back in a few minutes later and pushed him off his chair on to the floor.

After that a teacher came in and told them to settle down and by then break was over and he heard people saying they didn’t know what it was supposed to be about, as he hadn’t gotten the chance to explain that clearly.

He took lots of books and CDs but there was no time for the kids to look at them or book them out.

So he was very disheartened but when I suggested he speak to the Headmistress about it and ask her for advice he said he already did and she told him not to worry, that it is always hard the first time you do something and said she will sit in next time and help him control the kids.

But now he’s worried they won’t come back.

Sigh.

See the photo? That was R when he was in Grade 1 and I could still protect him from most things. Or at least it felt like I could. Now I just have to be the sounding board and let him vent in a safe place and try hard not to try soothe so much that he thinks I’m not getting it.

Fortunately when we got back to G’s house a good friend of R’s who we haven’t seen for ages popped in to say he’s around for the afternoon so R cheered up and they’ve gone off to explore the wilds of Capri for an hour while I get back to work.