I feel compelled to post an update on Neko and her transition to school.
In the last few days I've seen a sudden change in her behavior. She seems to be getting into a groove, and is far more herself when she returns home. I've also begun the tactic of having a snack waiting in her booster when I pick her up. By the time we get home, her blood sugar has had a boost, and we seem to have cut down on quite a few tantrums.
I'd be remiss in not mentioning school itself, which she is clearly loving. This week her class got some hands-on time with the monarch project that has been going on at school. One of the parents raises monarchs from eggs and then tags and releases them on their journey to Mexico. He works as part of an organization that studies monarchs, and is raising a group at school. For Neko, this is a little slice of heaven, and she has been coming home rhapsodizing about the cute baby caterpillars and how a butterfly emerged today and they got to let it go. (I was on photo alert, so I ran over to school to quickly take a photo for the web site, publications, etc.)
And speaking of Mexico, she can't stop talking about "Me-hi-co" and the Spanish words she's learning. I have to keep correcting myself when we talk about it. This has gotten me thinking about trying to learn Spanish myself. My high school Latin left my head years ago, so I feel like the dumb American who only knows one language. And since they learn Spanish until sixth grade, it's not going away any time soon. Anyone know a good way to self-teach a language?
I digress. Until next update…adios!