child #1 is off to school, child #2 has started homeschool, and child #3 keeps pooping...

cj went off to the 3rd grade today (sniff), while em started her homeschooling, and mr had a meeting with his teacher (the poor guy).
em enjoyed her day. it was very relaxed and fun and we just introduced her to a bit of what she'll be doing (which isn't much!) yesterday she was grilling me with nonsense questions about a bird in the yard (refer to RAD list), so today she interviewed said bird and wrote its life story in her journal. later after she gets used to me being her teacher (and loving her even if she makes a mistake), i'll tell her that twila is not spelled twilla and leaves isn't spelled levse. :) she also helped at the store by using the calculator to add or multiply prices.
we met mr's teacher and gave him a brief warning/intro to RAD. thanks to laura for this great, short fact sheet! he hadn't heard of RAD, but was willing to work with us. i was hoping to save him the frustration of dealing with a child who's smart one minute and dumb the next, but how can a non-RAD exposed human really get it?? you RADical moms know it seems like it's on purpose, like they want to be in trouble (i used to believe that), but it's a fear reaction. he really can't think under stress, he'd love to be able to! anyway, mr's first full day (they go all day, every other day) is friday. i think he's more stressed than we realize because he's pooped his pants twice in two days! he never does that and said it was an accident, but it's one of those questionable accidents. he's still in diapers, only at night (where i swear he pees all night long! he's a deep sleeper.) but we've not had any kind of potty issues forever. so that and other random odd behavior makes me think he's a bit nervous, though he won't admit that. probably doesn't even realize it. he has a hard time with sad and mad, not sure he understands nervous!
while at school, we visited cj at lunch where many of the girls begged me to let em come back to school and keep cj home! :) she was really happy to see her friends again though, and very sad when we got home. did ya catch that????? em was sad! (only a RADical mom would say yay!) so as a good mom, i helped her "feel her feeling" (which appears almost rubbing it in, but isn't) and then we celebrated that she had a feeling.
tonight as i was tucking her in, she said mom i want to go back to school. so i said sure, of course you will, next year for 4th grade. she said no, i want to go now. i said well honey, you can when you're ready, but you need to be good at this. and i rubbed noses with her, to which she got nervous and did her crazy giggle. i said you need to get used to having a good mommy and be able to relax on my lap and when i do this. and rubbed her cheek gently, to more uncomfortable giggling. and i ended with a positive, but i'm sure you'll get there. you can do it! of course, i guarantee she'll be sleepwalking down here soon. it's every night lately, but always, always after any hard night.
so, a pretty good first day of school at our house, except for the poop. :)