The recess experiment

So the boy child had another visit with Dr. H (the psychologist) yesterday and they came up with a plan for recess. On good-weather days when the class has outdoor recess, the boy is supposed to go out with his class and try to spend at least 10 minutes outside. After that, he can go back inside to the library as usual if he wants to. On wet-weather days when the class stays indoors, Dr. H would like the boy child's teacher or a counselor or some other adult to take him outside at the usual recess time, just for a couple of minutes, under a covered walkway or something. This is supposed to get the boy child used to going outside every day at recess time, to kind of rewire his brain in a new pattern.

We spent last night and this morning psyching the boy child up for today's recess experiment, and he was a bit reluctant but willing. And then we got to school and, wouldn't you know it, there was a substitute teacher. Argh! I had emailed the boy child's teacher yesterday evening, explaining the whole system to her, and there was just no way to communicate the entire thing to the sub in a way that she would know what the heck I was talking about during the two minutes between when we found out she was there and when she would have to start class. Plus it wasn't really something I wanted to explain with the other kids around, which is why I had emailed it in the first place. Argh, again!

Fortunately, I ran into the boy child's regular teacher on my way back down the hall. It turns out she was going to be in training sessions or something all day, which is why they had the sub. And that's when I made a mental note to add something to the boy's IEP next year stating that when the teacher knows ahead of time that she's going to be gone and there will be a sub, I want to be notified so I can prepare the boy. Had we known there would be a sub today, we would have put the experiment off until tomorrow. I briefly ran down the plan for the boy's teacher (she hadn't read the email yet) and indeed, she suggested waiting until tomorrow. I told her that either she or I would have to go back to the classroom to inform the boy, because he was psyched and ready to do it today. So then she said maybe it would be best to leave it up to the boy child as to whether he wanted to go for it, and she said she'd speak with both him and the substitute. I left the school feeling a little irritated and wondering if I would be getting a phone call right about recess time.

There was no phone call, however, and when I picked up the boy child this afternoon he had great news! Not only did he go out for recess, but he stayed out the entire time! And he took off his jacket for most of it! He said he had so much fun playing with his friends -- they raced and played freeze tag, from the sound of things. Yay! Awesome!

And then, on the way home from school, the girl child felt the need to tell the boy child some story about how she and her friend, who lives right next door to us, saw a bumblebee in the friend's back yard the other day. So then I had to kind of yell at her a little bit for that. I mean, geez! I think her father's going to have to have a little talk with her about how we never ever ever mention bugs around the boy child, ever. I would do it myself, but evidence suggests that when I talk the girl child just hears those Charlie Brown cartoon adult "wah-wah" voices.