Grrrrr...Bugs and Bears

Wednesday, 5 December – The Ugly Bug Ball

Today the Junior Program, the year 1 and 2 classrooms, held the Ugly Bug Ball to celebrate the end of the Bug Research Unit.  The ball took place on the old tennis court. Parents sat on the grassy hill above the court to watch the performance.  We clustered around the trees to escape the intense sun.  I can’t keep from smiling at the sight of hundreds of little people in large sun hats.  The flower image always comes to mind at the sight of them.  The tulip-heads were back.  Sitting in rows by classroom, they looked like a wild and unruly flower garden swaying to and fro, bobbing up and down.  We lost all the Bug Ball pictures when the hard drive crashed.  So sorry.  You'll just have to close your eyes and imagine the bright spring-time colors and little bodies strutting their stuff.

Each class performed a dance.  The first group paraded and sang, “The ants go marching two by two, hurrah, hurrah.”  They had us in stitches because there was always one odd ant rushing to find a partner.  One class gave a very modern dance-like interpretation of flower pollination.   I know I am prejudiced, but Colin’s class rocked.  They turned up the heat with a hip tune and some fast paced moves.  Colin's class was divided into caterpillars, bees, spiders and butterflies.  Colin was thrilled to be a bee and proud of his aluminum foil helmet and fuzzy antennae we made out of yarn and bendy straws.  Whenever I attend a school production, I have a sense of participating in an age-old tradition.  I remember my performances and sitting through my siblings’ shows.  Now another generation, my own son, performs.

While we were at the Bug Ball, Liam was having a rougher day.  He’s facing the challenges that Colin struggled with two weeks ago and that both Doug and I remember from childhood.  Actually, I would guess, that all of us have probably faced similar challenges at some point, being the new kid on the block and wanting desperately to fit in and have friends.  Keeping composed to the end of the school day is all he can handle right now.  By pick up, Liam’s face is flushed and when I ask about his day his lower lip starts to quiver.  I try to explain to Liam, as I did to Colin, that soon he’ll just be one of the normal kids, not the new kid.  Asking him to be patient doesn’t make him feel any better right now.

The big, protective momma bear lurking inside me wants to yank both boys out of their new school, put us all on a plane, fly home and place them back in their comfortable and familiar life in Denver.  My other half and Doug remind me that learning to cope in uncomfortable and unfamiliar environments is an important skill.  I know that we all, Liam and Colin included, grow through challenge and pushing outside our comfort zone.  The momma bear, however, doesn’t care about growth.  She just wants her babes smiling and content. Grrrrr…