Drama, Dilemma, & Mischievousness

The Drama:
Yesterday Elle informed me that she would not be going back to school. Flat out refused, said she wasn't learning anything, was bored, and would not go back. It wasn't the first time she has said this as we had an incident a few months back where she informed us that she wasn't learning anything and felt that she needed to go to a big kids school. It was around that same time when she asked for a handwriting workbook to practice with, and started insisting on science projects/lessons at home. Luckily for Elle, and me, today was teacher/parent conferences so no school and a meeting already set with her teacher.

Joe and I spent a HUGE portion of last night questioning ourselves-Is Montessori the wrong type of school for her? Have we been not respecting her expressed needs-yadaydayda. Today, happily feeling better from my illness that I passed on to Joe, I spent the morning going crazy with what to do.

The Dilemma
So at 3 pm I went in for the parent teacher conference thinking that I would probably be pulling her out of school for the next 4 weeks before me move. Yes, and I am ashamed to admit it, I am that crazy, thinks way too much about everything, obsessively annoying mom. Not my shining star quality. Anyway, had a GOOD talk with Miss Tonya found a solution to our "doesn't want to go to school" problem and discovered few surprising things:

1) Elle has become a leader. (WHAT?!) Apparently, Elle directs who plays with whom. According to Miss Tonya Elle organizes everyone into play groups. "Ok, they are playing cats over there, so you can play with so-and-so because they aren't playing with anyone yet. I will get so-and-so for you."  Elle has always been a follower to a fault so I was quite surprised and pleased to hear this side of her comeing out.

2) Elle refuses to do work at school. She wants to do the kindergarten curriculum and is quite unhappy that she isn't, so has refused to do all other work. Unfortunately, she did not tell Miss Tonya that was the reason she would not try anything else. Yesterday, with me she said, "I want to have a list (check off list for the kindergartens. It is Montessori so grades preschool,preK, and K are together) but my teachers won't give me one. I want to do what the big kids are doing but they won't let me. I am bored." One of the main reasons why we chose Montessori education and why we are looking at doing it through out elementary school is that it allows kids to work at their own pace. If a kid wants more advance work they are given it. Joe and I were quite upset  thinking Elle had been asking and was being denied. Turns out she wasn't asking but just stubbornly refusing to do anything. Good lesson in communication for her.

3) Miss Tonya thinks Elle is ready for all day, five days a week, kindergarten. Actually, she said that Elle might be ready more for first grade. Elle isn't suppose to start kindergarten for another year and we have been agonizing over what to do about this. Tonya's suggestion to the dilemma is similar to what we decided-keep her in Montessori but put her in a school that will allow her to move up when she is ready even if it is in the middle of the school year. Tonya also said to ask the prospective schools if they would allow Elle to enroll as a kindergartener. (pre-school, preK, and kindergarten is one class, and first, second, and third is the next class.)  I have really mixed feelings about this, as I don't really want to her to start first grade in a year from now (or sooner!). I have been leaning on the fence of keeping her on the public school schedule. Ugh.

And now for The Mischievousness:

Cheryl has been helping out with Elle while I have been ill so I took Aubree today. (What are we going to do without those girls right down the street?!) Cheryl and I trade watching the girls frequently because it really is a win-win for everyone. The mom without the older girls gets a one child day, and the mom with the girls get an almost one child kind of day. Aub and Elle are so self-contained that when they are together that all the mom in charge needs is a listening ear. Seriously, it is so much easier having them together than having only one of them. They both are advanced, well behaved, imaginative, and act more like eight. In the two years that Cheryl and I have been doing this we have only had one mischievous incident that involved nail polish and Cheryl's upstairs furniture. Well until today.

The girls had been playing mermaids in our hot-tub for about an hour and a half, Hannah had been napping, and I playing to-do list catch up. Then I hear, "LOOK I added the blue paint to the hot-tub."  "Here, I will add the purple. WOW look at the color we made the water."

I dart down, and sure enough the water is a dark shade of blue. So....