Code Blue

I got a phone call from Nigel’s teacher today, asking me if I would give permission for Nigel to be in the school play- and that the first rehearsal was today and could I pick him up at 3pm when the rehearsal finished. She emphasized that there would be a permission slip in his backpack that I would need to sign and send back right away. I gave permission and she told me that Nigel has been assigned a non-speaking role. When I picked up my little actor (with all the other kids excitedly in tow), he proudly told us all that he gets to be a bird that doesn’t talk and that he is supposed to peck at the ground.

When we got home I opened up Nigel’s backpack, looking for the permission slip, but the first thing that caught my eye was a separate note from his teacher. This note was specifically about Nigel’s behavior in class today. Apparently today Nigel was “ignoring the instructor, not following directions, and talking instead of working independently”. (My sweet Nigel, who doesn’t always fit into the “ideal student” mold). The severity of his behavior today was denoted by that fact that he ended up on “blue”. (Nigel starts every day on green, and then depending on his behavior, he can progress to yellow, orange, red and then blue). I’ll be honest- Nigel spends most days on Yellow or Orange. He’s never been coded Blue before. So, feeling mildly horrified that Nigel had such a hard time in class today, I moved on to the permission slip and read this: “We have been closely monitoring the progress of all the children, and your child shows a great love and talent for the arts!” Hmmm. Well, I suppose I can always comfort myself with the knowledge that Nigel can have a career in theatre.

And here’s Max… he ate all his own chocolate yesterday and this afternoon he found Ernie’s stash.

To quote Max: “Mmmmm… chocolate. I LIKE IT!”