My big girl’s back from camp. I think she was a bit painful and whingey but there you go, I’m sure that’s what you get when you take 16 special needs students to camp. I know how much Beth hates walking or any sort of exercise really and she let that be known. They did have a night hike which she seemed to enjoy, she told me about the mouse that she saw. Her teacher told me that she had to hold Beth’s hand when they walked to continue her walking. Beth seems to have two speeds, either galloping like a horse or really, really slow!
Beth shared a cabin with three other girls. One is in her class and the other two I hadn’t heard of. When she got in the car yesterday when I picked her up the first thing Beth asked was if I thought she was ugly. I replied that of course I didn’t, I think she’s really pretty. Apparently one of the other girls had said she was ugly and the other two had agreed with her. Now the girl in Beth’s class is lovely, I’ve seen her interacting with Beth and she’s always nice to her. It’s interesting though what happens when there are other girls around. I know nothing of the ‘ringleader’ here but if you get a mean instigator it’s often easier for the others to agree with them. I asked if it meant that Beth didn’t enjoy her time and she said that no, she didn’t really care, she had told them that she is pretty and didn’t believe them anyway. Still, if it was the first thing she said to me it must have played on her mind.
I found it useful that this had happened. I could then relate Beth being called ugly to Beth calling her teacher ugly. I asked if it made her feel bad and when she said yes I told her that was how her teacher had felt when Beth had said it to her. Hopefully she’ll think a little bit more before she says hurtful things.
I also wonder if the kids were a bit annoyed with Beth at night. If I fall asleep before her she’ll do what she can to wake me up as she hates the snoring or heavy breathing noises I make when going to sleep. I asked if the other kids fell asleep first and Beth told me that she kept opening their door to wake them up. She can be so bloody annoying at times! I have to monitor her tv watching too. Apparently she told her teacher that she had seen Scream and kept saying that I was dead or being eaten by wolves. When I picked her up she said (not for the first time) “You’re alive!” When I spoke with her later she told me that she had turned it over after I had fallen asleep. I let her watch tely because if it’s not on she goes out to the kitchen or gets into other mischief. Luckily now she’s discovered the home shopping channel and loves to watch the repetitive ads. I’ll just have to make sure I hide the credit card!
Anyway, they went out for pizza and Beth entertained the kids by ordering with an italian accent. They went to Sovereign Hill and Beth did archery. It sounds like they had a fun time. When I asked Beth if she enjoyed it or if she was homesick she told me that she enjoyed it. That was an excellent sign, I didn’t know if she would or not. Apparently she was still a bit of a loner but she joined in when prompted. Lots of the kids were having today off as they are so tired so I’ve let Beth stay home too. Tomorrow is footy day at school and she gets a pie for lunch so it’ll be a nice end to the week.
