Almost summer...

We are so close to having all of us off for summer, and I really can't wait. I was sort of off, but then a professor asked for help, so I've been TAing all week. Long story, but it will help me in the fall which is why I agreed.

Matt has been done and he's teaching the second summer session so he's been doing projects around the house. This week he managed to get the vegetables in the garden and change the front garden bed. Plus we bought the new baseboards, so that will commence after Memorial Day weekend.

Chi's good. Sometimes a little bored and wishing he could be in school like Gabe, but he's had some play dates and overall has been entertained.

And Gabe, well...

So, Gabe bit another student at school yesterday. He was never a bitter so that was a bit of a shock. Apparently some girls grabbed him and wouldn't let go, so he bit one of them. We had to have a talk about using words. He lost recess for the rest of that day and today. I'm totally cool with that punishment, but the principal said she would normally have sent him home. Really? For a first ever offense that didn't even hurt the student? And, even though the girls put their hands around Gabe's neck, they received no punishment. It's a little frustrating because we've also witnessed with others how boys usually get punished more severely than girls. Don't get me wrong - Gabe deserved his punishment and I finding biting someone to be unacceptable. But clearly the girls were not behaving either. Shouldn't they have lost at least one recess? But I also remember getting away with more as a child than the boys did, so unfortunately, I think the differing expectations are here to stay.

I'm really ready for Gabe to be done. He's in an awkward place where he doesn't like playing sports with the boys because he's not that good at, and he likes playing make-believe with the girls but some of them are bossy-pants and he gets frustrated. I think he just needs a break from recess drama, and maybe this summer we can work on his sports skills so he feels like he has more choices.