I'd prefer less excitement. Guess I'm about to get it.

Oh Bob.
Bob, Bob, Bob.

I'm not sure what to do. So far I've found at least 20 things that don't work with Bob. Speaking softly, hovering and paying close attention to what's going on, watching from a distance and trying to pick my battles.

The problem, or one of the problems, is that he arrives in the program already escalated. He's loud, he's rude, he shoves people around. Monday he decided to lie down on another kid.

They were pretending to be cats, lying on the rug in the dramatic play area. Bob decided to join in by tossing himself on top of one of the other kids. They protested loudly. My assistant was right there and asked him to stop. He didn't. No surprise there.

He screams loudly for no particular reason. It's more fun for him if he can see that it visibly annoys someone while he's doing it.

It soooo doesn't help that some of the other kids laugh when Bob gets wound up.
I have talked with kids separately, trying to be careful not to mention Bob.

Saying instead, "When other kids are not behaving in a safe or respectful manner, it's okay if you don't join in."

I've had mixed results. Kids don't understand the idea of ignoring less-than-optimum behavior from their peer group. Heck no... instead they laugh at Bob's more outrageous antics. Guess what the results of that are. Go on, guess.

:::humming Jeopardy theme music::::

If you guessed that Bob ramps it up, you are correct!

Yesterday's big attention getter (to go along with a myriad of smaller ones like running in our cafeteria, waving arms and screaming, stealing people's game pieces while they were playing games, knocking over dominoes) was SHOE LICKING. Yep, licking people's shoes.

I heard shrieks of laughter from the dramatic play area. Saw him licking a shoe while the owner of the shoe (and the leg) tried to pull away from him.

"Bob, Buddy... that's not a great idea. There are all kinds of germs and gross stuff on people's shoes. Let's find a different activity, shall we?"

He got up, ran in a circle around the room, slid on his stomach across the floor, grabbed a seated-on-the-carpet kid by the leg and licked the bottom of her shoe to the delighted screams and laughter of the other kids.

The more kid-familiar of you are probably wondering, why don't you just go outside after school?

Good question.
Here's the answer:

We can't go outside until all the kids have finished their snacks and the clock hits 3. There's another group of after school kids using various areas and we are staying out of each other's way. Under licensing, I cannot mix my group with theirs.

They are not licensed, I believe it's similar to SUN program, but they're well-behaved and we rarely see them at all.

But what it really means is that my kids, who have been cooped up all day (recess isn't as often or as long as it was when we were in school) are ready to be outdoors and run off some energy as soon as they arrive, but they have to wait 45 minutes to do it.

I don't make them sit quietly and wait, of course. We have snacks and different areas for them to play, lots of things to choose from. Dramatic play, LEGO, games, a whole table with a bunch of different puzzles/other fidgets. There's always an activity, too. Crafty arty stuff. Yesterday we played with air dry clay.

We don't offer specific areas for licking shoes or screaming, though.
We use the whole cafeteria for that.
::snort::


So when Bob's mom came to pick up yesterday afternoon after another frenetic, fun-filled two-hours-that-seemed-like-six, we did not have time to talk. She had somewhere else to take the kids and I was conducting an activity.

So my assistant-of-the-day held a brief conversation with Mom, I let her know that I'd be sending her an email, and that was that.

I sent the email this morning. I worded things carefully. I am not angry at her child, not angry at her. Not angry at all. Just concerned. I reiterated that I am concerned with the safety of Bob and the other children. I gave her a list of some of the things he did, and included my inability to redirect him in any meaningful way.

I got a reply this evening that they are removing Bob from the program.
I will still have his siblings, but they are going to make other arrangements for Bob.

There is no joy for me in this. I always do the best I can for the young humans I care for, and although I know it's not my fault, I take it personally when I'm not able to be the care provider they need.

It will be less exciting in program, but I'm not happy about it.

:::sigh:::