Put up yer dukes!

Oh man, I was totally ready to go in swinging if I had to.

Ok, not really, but I was SURE this wasn't going to be easy.

Last year, the twins were in separate classes for the first time. It did NOT go well. Pk doesn't depend on PF for help with school or anything, but he is shy and has a really hard time making friends, he has some social issues and has a hard time relating to people.

We thought last year was his chance, his chance to stand on his own two feet, make his own friends, and come out of his shell a little.

Ummmmm yeah, that didn't happen.

What did happen was I had an angry, lonely, sullen little boy, with literally NO FRIENDS.

Their classes were on different lunch and recess schedules so they couldn't even get together at recess and PK just had a horrible year.

I met with the principle before Christmas last year and we decided that yes, they really did need to be together and he was going to give us an exception from the policy of separating twins. However there was no way we could get them both in the same classroom at that point without having to move other people around as well.

We finished out the school year with them separated and it was a very hard and very long year.

So... we had it all set up for them to go into the same class this year. We get our teacher list and guess what??? They are in different classes AAAAAAAAAARGH!

I was prepared to go all the way, I knew this was going to be a fight, I just knew it!

I have been playing phone tag with the principle for a month now, we just can't seem to be able to talk at the same time.

Finally today I get a hold of him, explain that we had talked last year and made a mutual agreement that they needed to be in the same classroom. I am cringing, waiting for excuses...

He says "Oh yes, I see my notes in your file here. Well the numbers in the classrooms this year are such that....."

I am waiting for him to tell me that there are too many kids, nothing he can do, sorry.

Nope, he says "the numbers are such that we could go either way, do you have a preference for which teacher?"

We discussed the two teachers and decided to go with Mrs. O because she has been a teacher longer and where my boys are behind, PK moderately behind, PF only slightly behind, I would rather go with a more experienced teacher, and this was only the second year teaching for Mrs. C.

I was so unprepared for this to be easy. I thought I was going to have to fight this tooth and nail and it was all sort of.....anticlimactic.

So what do I do with all this stored up energy I was saving for the fight ahead? LOL

I am just glad it is all taken care of.

K was put in Mrs. G's class. I am ambiguous about this. On the one hand, she is a good teacher and really pushes her students to succeed. She goes above and beyond and her students do things that a lot of other classrooms don't get to do.

On the other hand, she is a bit of a drill Sergeant. She is older (pretty close to retirement I would say) and she isn't really known for her patience.

K will either totally crack under the pressure, or he will toughen up. I am sincerely hoping for the later. I have already warned him that he CAN NOT talk in her class, she won't put up with it, and he tends to be a bit, ok, a LOT of a chatterbox.

I am just relieved to have things in a good place for the start of the school year. Here is hoping that this year is FAR better than last year.