There are a multitude of books and theories on how to get your children to talk to you. After going through preschool with Annabella last year, I know why. You get snippets of information, at best. Sometimes you have to really dig to get to the good stuff.
Annabella is done with school around 3:30 p.m. Seeing as we are less than 2 miles from school, I decided to hit the bus stop around 3:45 p.m. Redding was asleep, so I scooped him up and headed out. We passed the time in a strange sort of snuggling and fighting. I had no phone and he had no shoes. We walked around, looked at trees, grass, ants. I made him stop running out into the street. I carried him while he fussed, I’d put him down to walk around a bit, he’d start to get all crazy like and make a dash for the street. Lather, rinse, repeat.
About 30 minutes later, Annabella’s bus pulled up. The 3 bigger kids at her stop hopped off, the bus driver shut the door. I waved to her, she opened up. “Who are you looking for?” I told her.
She paged her over the PA system. A minute or so later, she ambled down the aisle to the stairs. A boy, maybe in 3rd or 4th grade followed her with her backpack and lunchbox. Oops!
She hopped down, all smiles and announced, “We had TWO fire drills today!”
If you were with us last year, you know that Annabella is not a big fan of the loud noises that accompany drills of any kind. That is all she had to talk about most of the way back to the house.
Once inside, she opened her backpack and shared all her drawings and colorings, and a little bit of information about a book that they read in class today.
The narrative ended there. Begin the Q&A:
How did you like school today?
Yes, it was good.
Did you have fun?
I had fun at recess.
Did you make any friends?
Yes, a friend on the bus named Gracie. (This touched my heart because we used to joke about her being friends with another mico-preemie in the NICU named Gracie.)
Is she in your class?
No, she’s on my bus.
Oh. OK. Did you learn anything at school today?
I played Play-Doh.
Great! What else?
I don’t know.
How did you do at lunch?
I found an adult to open my lunchbox.
Did you try to do it yourself first?
I don’t know.
Did you get enough to eat?
Yes.
[I open it up. The cookie is gone, maybe two bites of melon, one carrot and a drop of dressing, she possibly at 5 pepperoni slices, but didn't touch the cheese, maybe she had 2 crackers. All her juice is gone.]
Annabella, you hardly touched your lunch.
I got milk at lunch!
How?
I entered my code!
Good. I guess I better put money in your account.
It was chocolate milk.
I see. So you had chocolate milk, apple juice, a chocolate chip cookie, 2 crackers and a piece of melon for lunch?
Yes.
And that was enough?
Yes.
OK.
What else did you do at school today?
I learned to clap a rhythm. [clapping]
Great! What is that about?
It’s to help us remember to be quiet.
Did you have trouble remembering to be quiet?
Yes.
A lot?
Yes.
Oh and I learned to make bubble cheeks!
What is that?
It’s like this [she puffs out her cheeks like she's holding her breath] so we remember to be quiet in the hallway.
Your teacher is very smart isn’t she?
Yes, I like her a lot.
Good.
Sep
03