pre-school interview

We were all tired today - but packed everyone into the car to go to my new school/work for Teoman's pre-school interview.  I have registered him for next year.  While the school is elite, expensive, and filled with the rich and famous - all three of my kids will get to attend for free while I am teaching there - and I'm pretty excited to teach at the same school my kids go to.

The preschool building was much less impressive than the campus - an elementary, middle, and high school set within a university campus - much like my current school.  The preschool building was simply an annex.  But one thing I already love about this job is almost everyone speaks English.  While I want immersion, and I want to be a part of the culture I'm in and make deep friendships with Turks - there is a certain amount of constant stress that comes with this.  The result isn't me stressed out - it's me laid back and clueless, or at the very least - confused.  I let most things slide and have accepted my voiceless role in the audience of my environments - but when it comes to my kids: I want to know what's going on.

Plus, it's funny.  I enjoyed sitting with all the nervous parents - I was nervous too.  I shared their excitement.  I laughed at myself for the urge to meddle and push Teoman to answer properly (but I didn't act on it).  I answered their three-page questionnaire about what makes him happy (cars, superheroes ... I asked him later, and he said, "Gum!" because he was smacking on some that Dede had given him), what makes  him sad (shouting), what makes him angry (when he thinks we aren't listening to him).  What five words best describe him (sensitive, proud, sense of humor, observant, thinks about things - makes decisions/judgements - and acts ... and I couldn't think of an English word to describe that), when he sat up, crawled, walked, what he eats, what he can do independently, toilet and sleeping habits ... it was all quite revealing as to a) how much I've forgotten about his "milestones" and b) how much more purposefully I could to pay attention to his needs, wants and worries - at least to record them and remember.

Teoman was hesitant to leave my side.  He twisted my ring and didn't want to join the boy-dominated group.  The teachers seemed quite attentive - understanding immediately Teoman was the student, and not Tomris, and coming over to engage him quickly and coax him to another room where his basic development skills would be observed.  A male teacher asked if he like Legos.  I couldn't help it - when Teoman didn't respond right away I said, "He likes puzzles!"

It worked.  Teoman smiled and nodded when the teacher offered to show him a puzzle in the other room, and he followed - albeit still with a bit of reluctance.

Teoman told me later he's not going to my school though - but I'm going to chock that up to still being way overtired because he also said, I'm not going to sleep, I'm not going in my car seat, and I don't like you!

I hope that didn't come out in the "interview" as well.

Parents anxiously awaiting, Tomris nonchalantly drawing