Suspended belief

Well it is the last week of school.

I expect the kids to be super excited, and of course this week their learning is unstructured and hands-on (read outdoor activities, games and extra recess!!!)

No, seriously the school has done a great job this year of planning some great activities for the kids - Parks & Wildlife sponsors fly fishing demos on the courthouse lawn, there are guided hikes on the Rec District's new trails above town, a local florist sponsors a garden that the kids plant and maintain, there are trips to the library, and the Pool staff runs water safety demos - all to keep the kids focused on good learning and healthy activities for the summer!

So when I got a text yesterday from the school principal that my child (Hamp) was in trouble I was sure it was something laughable and relatively harmless...

Uh, no.

Turns out, he punched a kid.

(at this point I was hoping for a situation where I could say, "I know the other kid deserved it, but we still do not hit people." Or at very worst say, "even if he hit you first, you don't hit back!")

But neither was the case. The other kid did NOT deserve to get bopped, and Hamp threw the first punch.

There are 2 kickers to this story:

     #1 - Hamp got angry over a stupid four-square game!!!

     #2 - until today, Hamp had perfect attendance for the school year!

Yes, today Hamp was asked by the principal NOT to attend school today. Specifically, he was suspended! (oh my gosh, it is this goody-two-shoes mama's worst nightmare!!!)

My mission today has been to make Hamp's sojourn at home as un-fun as possible so as to drive the point home that one never wants to risk being suspended from school! So I made a to-do list for him - with plenty of drudgery and house work that might turn him off from ever thinking he might want to just "stay home"... The list ranges from the ever-so unpleasant (scoop the poop) to the mildly annoying (cut your hair, read) but it kept him busy for most of the day. And without any tv, iPad, computer games or friends to play with all day I think he is starting to understand the value of getting back to school tomorrow! Regardless, I sure hopes he learns the value of keeping his hands to himself and not letting a little friendly playground competition get the best of him!

hmmmm, maybe if I post his to-do list right next to those ever present house rules he will somehow remember them when playing four-square at recess!!!