The boys have been counting down until we head to the States since we were 9 weeks out. That is a LONG time for two little boys. Luckily, right now we are down to 4, about a month left, and that is a much more manageable number for short attention spans. In between then and now, we've had (or will have) a music concert, an art show, and a book fair at the school, so we've been busy. Nothing like waiting until the last minute to do everything, huh?
The music concert was somewhat successful: J sang his heart out (that boy loves to perform!), but unfortunately he was only partially visible on the back row for part of the time. When I arrived 15 minutes early, I heard E yelling emphatically from the stage "I want my mom!" so I went in and rescued his teachers. He had been very anxious about singing on the stage for some reason (I blame the husband's childhood shyness for this!), and when it came time for the final practice, he just shut down. So he sat out the concert with me in the audience, singing along quietly and power-eating half a package of sweet tarts I had in the bottom of my bag (note to self: bring more snacks, always. Kids get really hungry in the desert for some reason!). One of his friends who is even newer to school than he is, from our compound but in another grade, sat out with us, since he had been refusing to participate all along. So we were a merry band of not-so-conscientious objectors!
The art show was very impressive. The younger grades had painted a life-size Monet with waterlilies that parents could walk through, a very ambitious project, but of course I forgot to take a picture. I did manage to get shots of the boys at some of the art project stations they had, which included things like iPad drawing, symmetry, an abstract mural, and origami. The boys were so intent at their stations I could hardly get them to look up at me, so forgive the blurriness and the strange expressions. They were only barely humoring me.
The book fair has actually been rescheduled twice, first because of some problem with ordering and the second time because the book vendor from Lebanon had a medical emergency....? It is finally supposed to take place next week. Hopefully, this fair will be a little more successful than our last book fair experience (in which J picked out a very expensive book because I hadn't given him a specific limit and then felt like he had "failed" at book buying until we went back together and renegotiated his purchases) but, if it is, it will only be because I have asked a bunch of questions beforehand to try and suss out the situation before the boys visit the fair. At one point, they sent home envelopes asking us to send back an indeterminate amount of cash for the children to spend at the fair, but no book prices or list of what titles will be available. And the classes will only visit once each, so they have to make their purchases then and there, with no parental input or approval, which seems a bit much for the pre-K and K set! Even worse, these are Qatari book prices, which means they will undoubtedly be exorbitant. Hopefully, since the librarian is running the sale, there will be more than the usual local Disney character books, but I am prepared for some paperback "book" about Frozen to appear in their backpacks. I did get the librarian to tell me a price range but no additional specifics, so we shall see how it goes for the boys. As usual, the whole thing is run a little haphazardly, as is the current MO of the school.
[Case in point: the other day they sent home a letter with E saying there were make-up school photos being taken the next week, but J never got a letter, even though they both missed the first round because we hadn't been admitted yet. So on the day of, I got both boys ready in non-stained uniforms, and then tried to find out when and where the pictures were happening. But no one knew anything (the PR person was on vacation, apparently, but there was no back-up plan). Eventually, after I talked to 5 people, we figured out that J wasn't even on their list, so we added him, informed his teacher, and hoped for the best. Of course, J was so discomfited by the shakiness of the plan and the fact that his homeroom teacher was absent (she is GREAT with him) that he freaked out while taking pictures and I had to take him home early. Thank you very much, school.]
Sigh. I hope we make it through the end of the school year. And I hope next year goes much more smoothly. Now all we have to do is navigate the beginning of Ramadan, the opening of an entirely new airport here before we fly out, and our oh-so-long haul flights back (13-14 hours to JFK during the daytime, 5 hours in JFK, then another 4-5 hour flight to SLC). The boys are going to be WASTED by the time we get there! Even bigger sigh!
But then the fun really does begin, so I just have to look forward to that!!
The music concert was somewhat successful: J sang his heart out (that boy loves to perform!), but unfortunately he was only partially visible on the back row for part of the time. When I arrived 15 minutes early, I heard E yelling emphatically from the stage "I want my mom!" so I went in and rescued his teachers. He had been very anxious about singing on the stage for some reason (I blame the husband's childhood shyness for this!), and when it came time for the final practice, he just shut down. So he sat out the concert with me in the audience, singing along quietly and power-eating half a package of sweet tarts I had in the bottom of my bag (note to self: bring more snacks, always. Kids get really hungry in the desert for some reason!). One of his friends who is even newer to school than he is, from our compound but in another grade, sat out with us, since he had been refusing to participate all along. So we were a merry band of not-so-conscientious objectors!
 |
| Here is J after the concert looking smily in his "fancy dress" clothes! |
 |
| Here he is next to his favorite friend from class, E the second in pink. She and J are two peas in a very entertaining pod, according to their teachers, and she was the first person to befriend him, for which we will be forever grateful! J and I both love that little girl! |
 |
| E was also all smiles AFTER the festivities and posed for a shot with his little friend I. Unfortunately, he then hit and then pinched poor little I at school during his pre-ear infection foul mood, so they aren't so friendly any more, sadly for everyone. And E really, really wanted to dress up as Superman for the concert, so we compromised on this bright red shirt, because that is totally what Superman would wear for fancy dress, yo! |
The art show was very impressive. The younger grades had painted a life-size Monet with waterlilies that parents could walk through, a very ambitious project, but of course I forgot to take a picture. I did manage to get shots of the boys at some of the art project stations they had, which included things like iPad drawing, symmetry, an abstract mural, and origami. The boys were so intent at their stations I could hardly get them to look up at me, so forgive the blurriness and the strange expressions. They were only barely humoring me.
The book fair has actually been rescheduled twice, first because of some problem with ordering and the second time because the book vendor from Lebanon had a medical emergency....? It is finally supposed to take place next week. Hopefully, this fair will be a little more successful than our last book fair experience (in which J picked out a very expensive book because I hadn't given him a specific limit and then felt like he had "failed" at book buying until we went back together and renegotiated his purchases) but, if it is, it will only be because I have asked a bunch of questions beforehand to try and suss out the situation before the boys visit the fair. At one point, they sent home envelopes asking us to send back an indeterminate amount of cash for the children to spend at the fair, but no book prices or list of what titles will be available. And the classes will only visit once each, so they have to make their purchases then and there, with no parental input or approval, which seems a bit much for the pre-K and K set! Even worse, these are Qatari book prices, which means they will undoubtedly be exorbitant. Hopefully, since the librarian is running the sale, there will be more than the usual local Disney character books, but I am prepared for some paperback "book" about Frozen to appear in their backpacks. I did get the librarian to tell me a price range but no additional specifics, so we shall see how it goes for the boys. As usual, the whole thing is run a little haphazardly, as is the current MO of the school.
[Case in point: the other day they sent home a letter with E saying there were make-up school photos being taken the next week, but J never got a letter, even though they both missed the first round because we hadn't been admitted yet. So on the day of, I got both boys ready in non-stained uniforms, and then tried to find out when and where the pictures were happening. But no one knew anything (the PR person was on vacation, apparently, but there was no back-up plan). Eventually, after I talked to 5 people, we figured out that J wasn't even on their list, so we added him, informed his teacher, and hoped for the best. Of course, J was so discomfited by the shakiness of the plan and the fact that his homeroom teacher was absent (she is GREAT with him) that he freaked out while taking pictures and I had to take him home early. Thank you very much, school.]
Sigh. I hope we make it through the end of the school year. And I hope next year goes much more smoothly. Now all we have to do is navigate the beginning of Ramadan, the opening of an entirely new airport here before we fly out, and our oh-so-long haul flights back (13-14 hours to JFK during the daytime, 5 hours in JFK, then another 4-5 hour flight to SLC). The boys are going to be WASTED by the time we get there! Even bigger sigh!
But then the fun really does begin, so I just have to look forward to that!!
I'm counting down too, so I can call you. Not that I know what number to call. Are you even reachable by phone whilst in the middle east? Of course you are, but you know what I mean (for less than $100 a minute).
ReplyDelete