Update: Will in School
Abeona sends home daily notes that record each child’s activities, feelings, friends, and interactions. In the 3 or so weeks since Abeona has opened, Will’s comments have looked something like this:
General Mood/Interactions:
– Empathetic, Social, and Helpful are almost always circled
– Responsive is circled often
Today I…
– Shared, Comforted, and Cooperated (these are almost always circled)
– (note: “helped clean up” is rarely circled)
Fascinations have been:
– reading/storytelling/roleplaying
– gardening
– painting/clay (nest building)
– nature/bugs
– balls/climbing/running
– sand/water
– music/singing/dancing
Special notes have included:
– “picked up toddler who fell, gave kiss, and comforted”
– “nuturing with younger ones”
– “gaining self awareness in group setting”
– “emerging as group leader”
Lunch. Will eats lunch before coming home. Usually, he gets a sandwich cut into little squares, grape tomatoes, fruit (grapes, apple, pear, mellon), and crackers. This was the kind of lunch encouraged at Will’s old school (note: no peanut products, yougart or other potentially messy containers, no juice, and no sugar snacks). I was surprised to find that kids at Abeona are seriously hooked up with meals… kids were eating pasta, soup, eggs, tofu, cookies, juice, and more. And they share. It seems to work quite well (and is darn cute) although it is definitely anyone’s guess as to what, exactly, your kid actually ate. (Not that this matters.)
Learning. The kids are focusing right now on “home” — learning about their homes (they’ve got framed photos of all the kids around the house), who lives in their home, what type of home they have, etc. We’re suppose to supply pictures of our house, our family and pets. The House is partnered with a local architecture foundation who is talking about the types of homes in New Orleans (based on the kids’ photos) and they are renting animal homes (nests, etc.) from the Audubon Society.
Health. Both kids had runny noses for a day or two about two weeks ago. But no sick days for anyone! Staff, on the other hand, has been having a rough time.
Other things. Early on, there were some issues with hitting between the boys (“some alpha-male issues” in the words of one teacher). We worked on it at home. (I say things like “use your words” a lot these days.) We are regularly told that Will does well in using his words, is quick to listen, and is not aggressive. When I pick up and drop off Will, I usually linger and talk to other parents, teachers, check-in on little things, and help out if something is needed. One of the things I like best is when one child is acting out (for example, Will was telling us about getting hurt by another child and we didn’t believe it until we saw Will get head-butted the next day) we know the parents, know what is going on, and know that it will all go away and the kids will still be friends. (Contrast this to the parents that drove me up the wall at Will’s first school — at Abeona it really feels more like a family.) The feel is always welcoming, always causal, always homey.
