Kai's class hosted a Mother's Day Lunch this past Friday. Every single child (26 of them!) had a mother or grandmother attend.
I should have known that Kai was in a mood when one of his teachers told me that she noticed that Kai dressed himself today. "Oh yeah," I said. "Did you notice that he put his shorts on backward? He wouldn't let me switch them around."
"I was helping him button up after the bathroom," she said. "And then I said, "Oops! You forgot your underwear today, Kai!"
Riiiight, he forgot them.........
We spent the first hour or so just hanging out in the classroom with our kids. Most kids did their work with their mother as their helper. Kai fooled around.
He fooled around in the mirror.
He rough-housed.
He told me he had to go to the bathroom twice, but then when we got out in the hall and half way down the stairs he told me he was just joking.
He spent a lot of time showing me, in great detail, what he was not supposed to do with the yellow ball (like throw it or bounce it) and two seconds showing me what he could do with it (squeeze it).
He fussed twice because his friend was sitting in the pink, inflatable donut-cushion that he wanted, and he spent a good 20 minutes trying to sneak it away from him.
He finally snagged the cushion and rolled it into the library center, disrupting a girl and her mom.
Twice I had to threaten him that I would leave if he could not do the right things.
When it was his turn to have a snack, he grabbed a bagel and a plate, poured himself some juice, sat down, and asked me to spread strawberry cream cheese on his bagel. His classmate Eva served her grandmother a bagel on a plate, with a napkin and a cup of water, and then she cleaned everything up. When I asked Kai if he would please serve me a bagel he made a big show of rolling his eyes, sliding off of his chair and complained, "Not again!"
Then to be funny, he slapped himself in the forehead and slapped a bagel in to my hand, no plate.
The teacher asked all of the kids to sit in a circle around the rug. Many kids pulled chairs up to the rug for their mothers, and then sat on the floor in front of their moms. I found a stool, pulled it over to the rug, and pulled Kai over to sit in front of me. He moved back to the center of the circle and stayed there.
After a short ceremony by the kindergarteners, some four year olds read out of a book, and then all of the kids got up to sing and do a dance for us. Kai belly-bounced with his buddy.
At one point, while all of the children were sitting nicely with their mothers, I was pulling Kai from the center of the rug by the tails of his shirt, risking rug burns on his knees and forehead, which he had pressed to the ground. I did this all with a smile on my face, of course, as if Kai and I were just playing around. As if.
We went outside for a picnic on the grass. Kai sat with me and ate, and ran around with his friends. After lunch he ran around the playground, and I was happy watching him play. He usually tells us that he plays alone at recess. I didn't think that was actually true, but I was a little concerned. He looked pretty natural running around with the other boys. He also looked natural when he climbed up on a picnic table and had to be scolded down. Oh that kid!
(throwing the football at recess)
The best moment, the moment that made it all worth it, was the moment I walked in to the classroom, which was already full of moms. Kai glanced up, saw me, and came running across the crowded floor. "Mom! Mom! My mom's here!" Then he leapt at me like he has never leapt at me before, into the air, into my arms. There is nothing better than that. Happy Mother's Day for sure.
(He was thoughtful enough to give me a tour of the closet!)
I should have known that Kai was in a mood when one of his teachers told me that she noticed that Kai dressed himself today. "Oh yeah," I said. "Did you notice that he put his shorts on backward? He wouldn't let me switch them around."
"I was helping him button up after the bathroom," she said. "And then I said, "Oops! You forgot your underwear today, Kai!"
Riiiight, he forgot them.........
We spent the first hour or so just hanging out in the classroom with our kids. Most kids did their work with their mother as their helper. Kai fooled around.
He fooled around in the mirror.
He rough-housed.
He told me he had to go to the bathroom twice, but then when we got out in the hall and half way down the stairs he told me he was just joking.
He spent a lot of time showing me, in great detail, what he was not supposed to do with the yellow ball (like throw it or bounce it) and two seconds showing me what he could do with it (squeeze it).
He fussed twice because his friend was sitting in the pink, inflatable donut-cushion that he wanted, and he spent a good 20 minutes trying to sneak it away from him.
He finally snagged the cushion and rolled it into the library center, disrupting a girl and her mom.
Twice I had to threaten him that I would leave if he could not do the right things.
When it was his turn to have a snack, he grabbed a bagel and a plate, poured himself some juice, sat down, and asked me to spread strawberry cream cheese on his bagel. His classmate Eva served her grandmother a bagel on a plate, with a napkin and a cup of water, and then she cleaned everything up. When I asked Kai if he would please serve me a bagel he made a big show of rolling his eyes, sliding off of his chair and complained, "Not again!"
Then to be funny, he slapped himself in the forehead and slapped a bagel in to my hand, no plate.
The teacher asked all of the kids to sit in a circle around the rug. Many kids pulled chairs up to the rug for their mothers, and then sat on the floor in front of their moms. I found a stool, pulled it over to the rug, and pulled Kai over to sit in front of me. He moved back to the center of the circle and stayed there.
After a short ceremony by the kindergarteners, some four year olds read out of a book, and then all of the kids got up to sing and do a dance for us. Kai belly-bounced with his buddy.
At one point, while all of the children were sitting nicely with their mothers, I was pulling Kai from the center of the rug by the tails of his shirt, risking rug burns on his knees and forehead, which he had pressed to the ground. I did this all with a smile on my face, of course, as if Kai and I were just playing around. As if.
He did not want to take a picture with his mom.
(throwing the football at recess)
The best moment, the moment that made it all worth it, was the moment I walked in to the classroom, which was already full of moms. Kai glanced up, saw me, and came running across the crowded floor. "Mom! Mom! My mom's here!" Then he leapt at me like he has never leapt at me before, into the air, into my arms. There is nothing better than that. Happy Mother's Day for sure.
(He was thoughtful enough to give me a tour of the closet!)
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