tired afternoon....

Camille and I decided to take a nap. Ha. Ha ha ha. She gave me Eskimo kisses, she squeezed my cheeks so I made a fishy face, she put the pillow on my face and she laughed and wiggled and...Margaret came in to see what was going on, and tried to take Camille out so I could rest....didn't work. So Margaret, bless her heart, came back in with a half a Hershey bar and lured Miss Camille out....I dozed a bit, then got up and baked the rest of the cookies and started some spaghetti sauce. I am now having two cookies with my coffee. Just out of the oven. The sauce is simmering, Joseph is going to pick Mali up from cross-country practice, Kathryn is going out to pick up the yard....Mirielle and Sam are doing homework...someone is playing the drums, Camille is snuggling with me because Charlotte Claire squeezed her, Suzanne is lying in the grass in the front yard.

Tereza asked if the kids get behind in school because they skip so much. No, not usually. When they get in the more challenging grades, they know they have to go or they get behind. In the younger grades, our kids seem to pick things up easily, so if they miss a day they are okay. I understand it can be frustrating to the teachers, since they have to make sure they make up worksheets and catch up on their papers, which is just busy work anyway if they already have the concepts. Sam got into some hot water at the end of the year last year because he was getting behind, but he worked really hard and caught up. We learned that for him, it is best that he doesn't play video games at all during the week. He is fine with that, and when the school year started this year, he was all for it again. He says it helps him focus and he no longer rushes through his work so he can play. He really has a desire to do well in school, and I am proud of him for that. He is giving it his all, so even if he doesn't get all "A's", it is fine.

Jonathan skipped today. He is six years old, and is so full of wonder and amazement about the things in this world. Cars, tractors, keys, batteries, train sets....he spent today organizing his things and getting different things going, and he has his key collection together again. He can open the bathroom doors with several different keys. He said to me , "Today is one of those really good days..." The way I look at it, I am just sharing him with the school. They can't have him ALL of the time. He actually likes school, and as far as I know this year, is doing well. But home.....well, home is HOME.

The weather here today is like a gift. Breezy and sunny and not too warm, but not cold...can't decide whether to leave the windows open or not....really nice day. The kids are barefoot and lots of them are outside with Kathryn now. It is about seventy degrees out.

My three high school kids have been telling me about all the new rules there this year. Stricter and stricter still. If a student fails a class for a marking period, the next marking period the student will stay after for restricted study hall each and every day. If one drives to school, one must fill out forms and permission slips and go through miles of red tape, and if one wishes to drive one's friend home, that friend needs prior permission....I think the more they treat the students like babies, the worse they will act. Give them some respect and some freedom, and they will live up to it. Just my opinion. I also say, let them go outside more! Even prisons let the inmates out in the yard once in a while.....

I always say, "If I were the principal..." but I guess the administrators are faced with the challenges of being responsible for these kids in a world where there is always someone to blame when something happens, and it better not be them. Our school district was sued one time by a parent because his son fell off the ropes in gym and broke his ankle. The school has insurance for those things and the medical costs were fully covered, but that was not enough for them. I think that is just evil. Anyways....no more opinions now, Miss Camillle is having a bad afternoon...tired and runny nose, and no nap!!! She wants me!!