I think most parents wonder at some point either during pregnancy or thereafter if their child might turn out to be especially gifted. Lucky for us, our child is obviously pretty freaking gifted. Kidding (or am I?).
I went to pick up Elena from daycare, and noticed that her dirty diapers (we use cloth for the most part and daycare has been exceptionally gracious in following suit) were bagged in CVS or Safeway type plastic bags. Oops, again we failed to comply with providing the requisite individual plastic bags. I mentally prepared myself to act surprised if this issue came up with Elena's teacher Heather, which it never does, but just in case.
Heather is great. Elena LOVES her. Elena loves Heather so much that when Heather leaves the room Elena balls uncontrollably...and doesn't stop. When Josh or I drop her off, she only occasionally does the open armed chase with a half-hearted whine. I've watched her after leaving--if someone gives her a hug or the slightest distraction (she is a sucker for tennis balls), she is fine.
So I go in to get Elena and Heather gives me a, teeth clenched/thin lipped type of smile and says, "Um, we'd like to set up a meeting sometime next week about..." and I started to get all hot and bothered.
About what? Her delayed vaccine schedule? I already told them she'd be caught up by age 2! Her mystery rash? I already told them I (and all of my colleagues.... I surveyed a bunch) thought it was most likely a drug rash! My failure to provide diaper bags? Okay, okay, I'll but another box of ziplocks!
"...moving Elena up early."
Oh. Is that all? Elena is slated to "move up" to Angela's toddler classroom when school restarts in August. My guess is that Heather's classroom has gotten pretty crowded in the past month (finally another girl, though!) and they need to shuffle the kids around a bit to distribute them more evenly. My ego, of course, led to my immediate conclusion that Elena is a genius, and they wanted to meet to discuss how best to support her genius training. I've tamed my ego a bit since that initial reaction... A bit. Every kid seems to light up when their parent walks in the door while the rest stare glassy eyed, drooling or eating their Goldfish crackers, sometimes waving their hands up and down with a Sloth from Goonies type roar. So I can't compare Elena's constant chatting (one of my favorite phrases recently has been, "I like it!") and tour-guide actions to those of her classmates because I am really not seeing them at their best. But still. Come on. They're moving her up early!
I am not sure if any of her classmates will move with her. Owen and Turner have been there since the beginning, since the infant room. She pretty much only mentions them at home though I am working on Gabe as he is the son of friends of ours. At the parents' night we were told that Elena hugs Turner... a lot. To the point where it makes him uncomfortable. That can't be the reason, can it? Josh and I joked about a love triangle between Elena, Turner, and Owen disrupting Heather's toddler classroom.
But now I am also worried about the moving up. Leaving Heather will be traumatic enough, but I hope one of the other boys moves as well to ease the transition. Will leaving her friends cause her to be too preoccupied to learn in Angela's class? Is she really ready for this move?
Wo knew having a genius would be so hard??
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