But thank goodness for Decathlon! It has made all sporting activities so accessible! I ordered a sleeping bag, three pairs of track pants, a cap and a pair of wet shoes, and collected them at HV. Kai tried the shoes on the spot and they fitted well so we were set!
Asked Kai if he looked forward to the camp. He said no. Then he said yes coz he could waste time and not go to school *.* Well, he was going, like it or not. Told him to just go with an open mind and enjoy himself, and to listen to instructions for safety's sake.
In his level T-shirt on the first day of camp on Wednesday, 15 Feb
He asked me to sit with him on the bus that day to remind him of the contents of his bag. Yang and Yu had a disagreement on the bus so they sat on their own. As I didn't sit with Yu and even held him back when he tried to get down from the upper deck before the bus stopped moving, he got angry with me and walked into the school without saying bye *.*
Saw Kai with a classmate as we alighted the bus. The other boy boarded near the train station and was carrying a sling gym bag with much difficulty as it kept slamming on his legs. I was glad I got Kai to empty his schoolbag and just use that. Reminded him to enjoy himself and be safe, and we were left with two boys for the next two days.
SO PEACEFUL.
Haha! Coz Kai tends to make loud demands, command his brothers loudly, and dominate conversations.
On Wednesday, I asked Yang and Yu how they felt. They didn't miss Kai. Yang said it felt different. Yu said it felt "fresh". I was looking forward to accompanying them during bedtime, without Kai's loudness and without him lying on their beds and disturbing them. Unfortunately, I came down with a bad cold and could not stay long with them for the two nights Kai was away :(
We decided to wake up 10 min later on Thursday. The default alarm ring tone was softer. Both boys woke happy and Yu did not laze in bed or whine for the first time since he started school! We took the later bus and still reached school before 7 am.
They decided to sit together to chat and play
They love watching Papa play games
On Friday, Sito brought Yu to school while Yang stayed home for HBL. He had a lot of work on SLS, did some leftover writing homework from Thursday and planted some green beans. It was also "take your child to work" day for Yang. We enlisted AhYe to help - he video-called us from his workplace to show Yang around. I also showed Yang the videos that AhYe sent earlier.
But I didn't manage to intervene the corresponding SLS assignment in time - his answers were too brief after AhYe took the trouble to show him around and text him on the skills required for his job. I was very upset coz I knew he just wanted to quickly finish everything else before the PE assignment which had many quizzes and games.
Posing remotely with AhYe
I was cleaning up after Yang's lunch when Kai showed up with a "I'm back!" - a little earlier than expected but great! Welcome home, my dear boy!
He looked so cute at the door - schoolbag on his back, small backpack and sleeping bag in front. I noticed he had turned one shade darker. Let him drop everything at the door so he could go wash up and get some lunch.
Over lunch, he willingly shared the highlights of the camp - coz he won in kayaking not once but twice! Thanks to that, I think, he didn't have much to complain apart from the dirty toilets and shower area. He did not poop in the camp at all *.* There was an amazing race and a campfire. I wanted to know more but he forgot this and forgot that *.* Hopefully there will be photos from the school!
So life returned to normal when Yu came home from school.
Steamboat dinner to celebrate his return home!
And breakfast next day was Yakun
Actually I was afraid he didn't eat well during the camp, since he's picky about food. But it turned out that food was ok. Bee hoon, rice etc. He said he didn't complain about the food but some of his friends did.
But I have a complaint - the cleaning up was gross! I had to dump the T-shirt he wore for kayaking and a pair of socks. His school shoes were yellow. I thought I could just wipe his schoolbag but he dumped dirty socks and underwear directly into it, leaving one of three wet bags unused! So everything was wet. Even the raincoat that wasn't used. I dumped everything but the shoes and bag into the machine in two loads.
Now the camping gear has been packed away, to be used two years later by Yang :)
Update 9 Mar
I just pulled out his camp booklet from our bookshelf (which is quite messy). I think the only positive thing about the camp for him was kayaking and only coz he won. If he had lost, this camp certainly did not achieve its objectives with this boy. I really don't know how I can help him be more open towards learning and new things. Sighs...
