September 8, 2009

Crisscross Applesauce

Henry attended summer school for the month of July. He did pretty well after overcoming a few hurdles at the beginning. The biggest one was "Crisscross Applesauce." Apparently, when the kids were getting a little out of control, the teacher would yell out, "Crisscross Applesauce!" and the kids would have to sit down on the floor-- Indian style.

For the first several days all Henry would talk about was how this hurt his legs. Poor Henry would cross his chubby little legs through the pain to avoid a confrontation with Ms. Johnston.

Finally, after a week of whining, I asked Henry if he'd like me to talk to his teacher. Henry said yes and so Monday morning I walked Henry into school and did just that while he sat down in line waiting for school to begin. I explained to Ms. Johnston that I realized it was a silly thing, but that Crisscross Applesauce hurt Henry's legs and asked if it were possible to excuse him from crossing his legs.

Just as I was finishing my sentence, Ms. Johnston and I looked down the hall at Henry who was sitting-- Indian Style-- in line, laughing and playing with the kids on either side of him. Thanks, Henry, for backing me up on this one.