Ugh, now what.

Since Jackson's birthday is October 6th there hasn't been a lot of time for us to get to know everybody well in his class - kids and parents alike. I had been putting off planning a party for him that would include his whole class because it just seems to soon for that, and he seems too young (and my house seems too half-painted) to have everyone over here. And I am pretty sure that at this age you are not supposed to invite just a few kids from class. If you're going to have a party, pretty much everyone needs to be invited.

So I was thinking, since it's Thanksgiving in Canada that weekend and they don't have school on his birthday, I would take him and a couple friends from outside school to the movies that afternoon and just have a low-key day.

HOWEVER ... In his take-home bag today there was a party invitation from a boy in his class for October 6th. Everybody is invited. They have rented out the Senior school gym and field for them to play on. They have rented a bus and are taking all the kids to the movies. Drop off time is 11:30, pick up at 4:30. That's a really, really long time.

There isn't any mention of who will be looking after the kids all that time. It's not like being at school - they're going to be running all over the place, and the theatre they're going to is MASSIVE. Easy to get lost in. I know the boy's name, but I can't even picture his parents in my mind.

I kind of don't know what to do. I don't want Jackson to miss out on a great time ... but it also might not be such a great time and I think that's way too long. Plus, that is HIS special day. I wouldn't want him to spend his whole birthday celebrating somebody else's birth and watching another boy open all those presents.

But maybe he'll really want to go. Maybe by then he will have forgiven the fact that this boy apparently socked him in the stomach today. I don't know how hard, I don't know what the circumstances were... I do know that Jackson didn't cry but he said it hurt. He said that this boy was angry about something and that they'd had an argument but he couldn't remember what it was about, or he didn't want to tell me.

When this kind of thing happens it's often just a misunderstanding and they forgive and forget by the end of the day, but then there is another kid who spits on his classmates and gets regular time-outs so it's hard to tell what is an exaggeration and what is more serious. I don't know why I thought there wouldn't be any of this kind of thing at his school.

I was particularly disappointed to hear about the hitting though, by this boy with the birthday invitation, because on previous days I saw how genuinly happy he was to see Jackson at school and I felt glad to know that he already had made such a nice friend. Now Jackson says that he thinks they might not be friends anymore.

I'm dying to prod Jackson to tell me more but I know if I wait until later this evening I'll get a better response.

So basically, I think it's probably not a good idea to send Jackson on this all-day thing with these faceless parents who may or may not be capable of looking after eighteen 5 year olds, and possibly some siblings, with or without hired assistance.

Also, WHO GETS THE BIRTHDAY TAKE HOME BAG??? There is this special birthday bag in the classroom and it goes home with the birthday kid full of special things. I'll have to talk to his teacher about this.

By the way, I fully do not expect anybody to really care or even read all of this. This is sort of just helping me think ...

Maybe the answer is to pack up the presents and the suitcases and head up-island somewhere special for the weekend right after school on Thursday. Hmmmm ...

Expect a similar post this time next year!

... oh I just had another thought. I'll speak to his teacher tomorrow after school and share my thoughts. Maybe I can send a bunch of party favors or cupcakes or something to school with him on Thursday the 5th and have them take 15 minutes or so just to wish him a Happy Birthday, and maybe she can prepare two take home bags. Anybody still reading this have any suggestions?