Playing hookie

School resumed after Easter holiday this week. Monday was a teacher work day, and the kids went back on Tuesday. Well, most kids went back on Tuesday. Ellie had an extra day off. I just let her play hookie for a day, and it was great! The weather was beautiful, so we had three picnics in the backyard (morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack), replanted her cubby house window boxes and generally enjoyed the day. (The picnic basket was a score from an op-shop visit that morning. Ellie is so proud of it!)


Last term was a difficult one for Ellie. She was so ready to go back after the Christmas/summer break, but over the term, things deteriorated. Although her teacher reported seeing no change in Ellie during the day (perfect behavior as always), we saw some dramatic changes at home. She became very fragile, teary, tantrum-y, and extremely tired. She was a serious handful and didn't even know how to manage herself. She begged to stay home some days and wanted early pick-up on others. She didn't want to learn anymore, which is a big red flag in itself if you know Ellie. Something(s) was really not right, and for the first time ever, I considered pulling her out and homeschooling. I have a lot of theories as to what the problems might be, but Markus keeps reminding me not to jump to conclusions. I hope to do a series of observations soon to see things for myself.


Ellie is an extremely sensitive little soul, and I know interactions with others, whatever the place or occasion, will present challenges for her. It's unlikely we will ever find her The Perfect Place, but to see her attitude toward her school go from sky-high to rock-bottom in weeks was very upsetting to me as her mother (gross understatement there, actually). The good news is the Easter holiday brought her back to herself and let me understand a bit more how to help her. Now, I need to get at the root of the issue(s) and figure out the next steps, if any need taking. No buts about it (sorry, couldn't resist).


Markus is off on Friday and Monday for ANZAC Day, so we're playing hookie again, and again on Tuesday, because Grandmary is coming! Our first visitor from the States (providing she can actually be coaxed into getting on the plane Sunday afternoon)!