school update

The Happiest Toddler on the Block (full disclosure: I've never read it) describes 3 main personality types of toddlers: easy, shy, and spirited. Ben is mostly shy, though he has some traits of the easy toddler as well. Nate, who is not so much a toddler anymore, is fully spirited. Neither is as good with new situations as the easy toddler, but Nate has gotten a lot better recently, maybe as part of coming out of toddlerhood? It did take him 4 weeks to warm up to his new school, though. (P.S. He is still 100% a spirited child.)

showing me how Jamali plays cars, in his Monday/Wednesday uniform (with the sweater because it was raining and a bit chilly)

Nate fussed when I dropped him at school a few times. He cried real tears once, when his teacher wanted to talk to me. I had to go into his classroom instead of just sending him in with one of the teachers. They have a diary in which they record what the kids do and eat each day. There is a spot for the teacher to make a note to me, so I don't really know why she needed to see me in person that day. It really disturbed Nate, but I think he calmed down as soon as I left.

Last week, he was telling us about his friend Jamali (Jamal, actually). He has since added to his list of friends Kevin, Munda, Makunene, and Felista. He has playtime and extracurricular activities that he didn't get at his old school. We didn't sign him up for every activity offered, but he has football (soccer) on Tuesday afternoons and Taekwondo on Thursday afternoons. The whole class has computer class on Tuesdays, too. Nate loves showing us what he's learning in football and Taekwondo.

showing off his new backpack in his Tuesday/Thursday (PE) uniform

We've just completed the fifth week of school. And this week, he started being excited to go to school. Previously he would ask hopefully every morning, "I'm not going to school today?" Now he finishes breakfast and announces, while still in his PJs, "OK! I'm ready to go play with Jamali!" There's no more fussing during drop off, and he even says "good morning" to the security guard.

On Fridays, they usually let out a few minutes early. The kids go out to the playground to wait for their parents. Rodgers had arrived early to pick Nate up and was walking up to the gate just as Nate was taking his backpack off to go play with his friends. Nate was not excited to come home - for the first time ever.

At his old school, Nate took his lunch and snack every day, but the principal here wanted to see if we could get him to eat their food. We're paying for it anyway, it's worth a try! They repeat the menu every week, so every Monday is rice and beans; every Tuesday is sukuma wiki and ugali, and so on. They have porridge for morning snack, except Wednesdays when they have milk. In the afternoons, they have fruit, usually bananas.  The first week, he drank porridge most days, but at nothing. Eventually, he decided to like bananas (which, I might add, he only ever ate in the puree phase), and gradually started eating the lunches. Besides Tuesday lunch and milk on Wednesday, Nate ate everything served to him this week! He even ate pojo! I think his teacher is still a little concerned that he won't eat Tuesday lunch or Wednesday morning snack, but I am totally happy with this.

ready to go to school, in his Friday "home clothes"