Sigh

So we dropped Jack off this morning, looking all clean and new in his uniform. We were up far too early so we actually managed to get there on time. He was very quiet and not quite himself.

Most days, he will take in a packed lunch, but today he insisted I collect him for lunch. He was even quieter. Apparently, he was terribly bored. He told me they read the word "ik" ("I") all morning. They wrote only the "i" part. He didn't like that very much. I told him to give it a few days, but I can feel we're in trouble. I'd been expecting trouble.

(Warning: this is where I start to brag a lot about my child. You may want to click away.)

School starts at age two and a half in Belgium. Before Jack went to school in January two and a half years ago, he could count to twenty-five, sing songs comprising several verses, do twenty piece jigsaws. In that first class, they gave him four piece jigsaws and then told me he seemed to not like doing them. They also aimed to be counting to two by the end of the year.

By September, he had been tested and skipped a grade. Socially, this was much better. He loved playing and made a lot of friends. However, he was still bored by most activities on offer. They were counting to six now.

Last year, he taught himself to read and write. He's not fluent at all, but he knows what to do. He knows how to count to a gazillion in principle, but also knows it's not very doable in practice (oh, the long car journeys). He has taught himself the basics of arithmetic. He asks the odd question to fill in the gaps in his knowledge and goes from there.

Now he's sitting in a class, probably being taught 1+1. Yesterday, he told me exactly how much I needed to spend in the shop if he was to get five sets of Pixar cards. He adds and subtracts prices in Euros and cents. He is going to be so BORED.

They do have a program at his school which offers extra activities to those kids who are ahead, but that's only on a Wednesday. There has been some vague talk of offering extra activities in class. I don't want to come across as pushy (even though I am) but I want to speak to his teacher as soon as possible about what's being done for him. Okay, so that will look pushy. So be it. I'm on the case.

So, today I am fretful and worried. But oh so proud of my big boy, going all by himself to his big new school.

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Straight after writing that, Marie did her first poo on her potty! She went to the "big class" at creche yesterday, and apparently saw some of the bigger children use the potties and twigged. Between the rain and the worry, good surprise indeed.

(I know I will be writing the same kind of post about Marie in years to come. She's twenty-one months and counts to ten in two languages. Okay, I'm done bragging now. Resume your activities.)