The pet sitters

A few weeks ago our neighbours went away and asked us to look after their pets.  Their pets consist of a rabbit called Rosie; as well as three chooks named Grace, Jasmine, and Twilight Sparkle. 

Grace.

Henry was beside himself with excitement at the responsibility and the thought of having pets to play with.  Each of the kids was given a job.  Henry was to feed the chooks and keep their water bowls fresh.  Buster was to collect the eggs.  Milly was to feed the rabbit.  The animals are free to roam and hop around their backyard all day, so it was a matter of letting them out of their hutches in the morning and putting them back at night.

Rosie's hutch.

It would be fair to say that Milly is not an animal lover but she was happy to look after Rosie the rabbit.  She took great pride in feeding Rosie and letting her out each morning, but putting Rosie back in her hutch each night was a probably for Milly.  You see Milly didn't want to touch Rosie.  A cautious pat or stroke is all Milly can muster, so this job fell to me or Henry each evening.  Catching Rosie each night to put her to bed was made easy by her favourite pink ball.  Rosie likes to chase and hump her ball.  If we couldn't find Rosie each evening we would simply kick the ball and Rosie would come hopping and humping.

Just like the fictional Buster in the children's book "Oh Dear", our Buster found the eggs too.

Buster enjoyed his job of looking for eggs.  He'd check for eggs a couple of times a day and marvel how each chook lays a different coloured egg, with Grace's eggs being the biggest.  Buster loves a boiled egg for breakfast.

Embracing the whole experience was Henry.  This poor kid loves animals so much.  Henry would regularly jump the fence just to play and watch the animals.   He was a great guardian of the pets.  Although he did get a bit upset when Grace pecked at his fingers and drew blood.

Henry and his brood.

Milly keeping her distance.

Rosie LOVES her pink ball.

Rosie still LOVING her pink ball.

First orientation done and dusted

I think we may have put too much emphasis on trying to get Buster excited about his first kinder orientation.  The night before, as I put him to bed, he was very teary and emotional.  The build up to the big day was causing some anxiety and he told me he was scared and didn't want me to leave him.  I snuggled into bed with him and we had lots of cuddles and reassuring whispers that all would be ok.  He fell asleep with his cheek against my cheek and all was right with the world again.

The next morning he came down the stairs and told me he still felt a little bit scared.  I told him it was ok to be scared but what if the day wasn't scary at all.  What if the day turned out to be fun.  Had he considered that?  And with that he ran off and played with Henry and Milly while I got breakfast and school lunches sorted for the day.

The plan for his first orientation day was for him to spend time in the kindergarten classrooms and for him to meet his Year 6 buddies, who will be helping him and looking out for him when he starts school next year.  While he was in the classroom I was to attend an information session.  He would also be having recess with his buddies and then I would collect him.  It was also a preschool day, so after his orientation I would whizz him off to preschool.

When we arrived at school there were lots of little kids waiting in the playground for orientation to begin.  While we waited Buster played with one of his friends from preschool who is also starting school next year.  This little kid is a sweetie.  His name is Francesco, he is very timid, he is from Venezuela and English is his second language.  In fact he may be the only kid we know that is the same size or slightly smaller than Buster.  Anyway, he was following Buster around and copying him.  Buster led him to the bubblers and they managed to drench themselves with water just as it was time to head up to the classrooms.

As luck would have it, Francesco was assigned the same kinder room as Buster and they walked in together and put their bags down.  Buster then stood in the middle of the room, hands on hips and asked out loud "Now what do I do?".  He then sat down at a table, picked up a pencil and started to do some drawings.  I kissed him goodbye and left him with Francesco who joined him at the drawing table, relieved that he wasn't anxious anymore.

While I was at the information session I heard the recess bell and couldn't help but hope he was ok and was enjoying himself with his Year 6 buddies.  A week earlier Buster had received an invitation in the mail from his buddies, introducing themselves and letting him know they were looking forward to meeting him at the orientation.  Buster had been given two buddies (Alex and Xander).  Henry and Milly told Buster he must need two buddies because he is a naughty boy.

When the information session was over I headed out to the playground to meet Buster's buddies and collect him.  They were nice kids and they told me Buster had had a good time.  They also mentioned Buster showed them how he can stick rice snacks up his nose.  Later that day, Henry and Milly also told me they saw Buster at recess covering his eyes with his crackers.  I'm sure his Year 6 buddies are suitably impressed.

With his first big orientation over he was reluctant to go to preschool.  There were some tears and he took a long time to settle once we were there.  I stayed for a bit and read him some stories but then left him with his teachers.  They always take photos of the kids during the day so you can see what they were up to when it is pick up time.  The only photo they could get of Buster was one with his shirt over his head covering his face.  He had remained uncooperative most of the afternoon.  He is a stubborn little bugger.

So in two and half weeks time, he will have another orientation day.  Fingers crossed it all goes smoothly, he stays dry and his food goes in his mouth and not up his nose.

Buster's preschool photo

The only thing I could love more than this photo is the boy himself.

The kindergarten questionnaire

With the final term of school for the year upon us, the time is inching closer to when Boo will start school.  In a couple of weeks he'll have his first orientation day and as a reminder that children can be complex and are little individuals, the school have issued a questionnaire designed to assist them in understanding our child and help them best cater to his learning needs.

INDEPENDENCE
Is your child used to separating from you happily?
Um, the answer to this is sort of yes.  While Buster doesn't cry when we drop him off at preschool, at other activities like birthday parties he does get a bit anxious if we are not within close proximity or eyesight.  He always wants a reassuring cuddle.

Does your child attend preschool/day care?
Yes, two days a week for a total of 16 hours.

Is your child toileting independently?
Yes, but there are still the occasional wee mishaps.  For example, just this week he needed to go, dropped his shorts but had forgotten to drop his undies as well - hence while sitting on the toilet he did a wee in his undies.

Is your child dressing independently?
He sure is.

Is your child appearing ready to start school from an emotional stand point?
We really don't know how to answer this one.  Yes, he's emotionally ready to take his learning to the next level, but is he emotionally ready to be one child in a playground of a few hundred..... don't think so.

Does your child show responsibility for general belongings?
This answer is a big fat NO.  He has zero sense of responsibility.  It's not through lack of trying on our part, but with him it's in one ear and out the other.

Can your child state their full name?
Bless his little cotton socks.  When asked if he knows his full name he answers "Buster Boo Bryan John Hopson".

Can your child state their age?
Yes.

Can your child state their address?
Other than knowing the region he lives in and the number of our house.  No.

HEALTH
Does your child have any health related problems?
No.

Has your child had their hearing/eyes/speech checked?
Not yet on all fronts.  His preschool always organises eye tests for the kids going to school and they also have a speech pathologist who regularly visits and helps kids with problems.  He does have trouble pronouncing "th" and substitutes "w" for "r", but these are normal speech issues for a kid his age.

PHYSICAL SKILLS
Please comment about your child's physical development and skills.
He might be small but he is very coordinated and strong.  Running, jumping, climbing, kicking a ball and throwing (he loves to chuck stuff) are some of his favourite physical activities.

SNAPSHOT FROM HOME
Does your child learn things quickly?
Um, let's see.  He certainly hasn't learnt that throwing a tantrum doesn't get him what he wants, nor does forgetting your please and thank yous.  Again it is a regularly thing of in one ear and out the other.  However, if he's interested in the subject to be learned he quickly picks things up.

Does your child ask complex questions?
Does "what's for dinner" count as a complex question?

Does your child show a love of a range of books including reference texts, using the computer, talking on the phone, looking through the paper and specialist magazines?
A big fat YES for this one.  He loves nothing more than to snuggle up and be read to.  He's also quite adept on the computer.

Does your child demonstrate a high desire to get things exactly right; is a perfectionist?
Nope.

Does your child have a strong sense of right, wrong, social justice and the complexities of moral decisions?
Got to chuckle at this one.  Yes he knows the difference between right and wrong, the problem is he just doesn't care.

Does your child seek older playmates or adults?
He doesn't like to engage with anyone he doesn't know.

Is your child curious and motivated to find things out?
Oh yes.  He can sometimes be quite fearless with his curiosity without thinking about the consequences.

Does your child love to explore new topics, ideas and problems and to be challenged with new ideas?
He'll have a go at anything.

TEMPERAMENT
Please make a comment about your child's temperament.
Cheeky.  Playful.  Stubborn.  Likes to hold a grudge.