Excuse me while I suck my thumb

Bah Humbug, but this is going to be a doozie of a day! I am preparing for what could be a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day, but who knows maybe I'll catch a break, the clouds will clear and the sunshine will pour into my world.

This morning at 8 a.m. I have my first major parent-teacher conference of the year. I say, major conference because my conferences with this teacher are so frequent that I must now rate them by level of seriousness. Lucky me, I've been meeting with said teacher every Thursday since the beginning of school so we can "discuss Maggie." This is one reason I've been MIA in bloggerspace.

Now you might think my Maggie must be a trouble maker, a mouthy child, a downright "at-risk" child to warrant so many conferences, but truth be told, she's a pretty good kid. She's empathetic, sweet, outgoing and smart. She's also a touch hyper and easily distracted-- though not to the point where it interferes with her work.

So what pray tell is this teacher's problem with my daughter? Maggie is a hair-chewer. It's a nervous habit brought on by a hatred of math. The more math you serve this child, the "crunchier" her hair becomes. I have tried nasty tasting hairspray, french braiding it and putting it up in topsy tails, but the child becomes so nervous she rips out the hairstyles and commences with her comfort food. Now, the more said teacher complains about Maggie's little habit, the more nervous she becomes and the more she chews.

My teacher's solution: move Maggie next to a kid with ADHD. Maggie cannot take distractions. She asked to be moved because this kid was destroying her school supplies. Her teacher told her to deal with it. And so Maggie became even more nervous and had trouble focusing in school. Her math skills deteriorated-- as did her confidence. And so, her teacher kept her in from recess so she could work on her math-- only no one was actually helping Maggie. She just sat in room all by herself and counted her fingers and toes.

My solution: after weeks of arguing with the teacher and explaining Maggie's home situation, I cut off my baby's beautiful (and I mean beautiful) long, blonde hair. Her hair was so beautiful; it looked fake. I know I should have fought like a mother bear-- I did. But in the long run, I was worn down. I had too many things to deal with and my daughter's hair was one thing I could control. Cut it off and the lady will shut up.

Now magically, her teacher has discovered that Maggie has trouble in math and needs help-- oh and that her classmate is a distraction.

I'd like to give that woman a refresher in listening skills (among other things).

And so today, I get to meet with said lady-- and my husband is stuck on duty so all three kids get to come along-- this should be fun!

I'd pull her from the school, but it is the best one on the Ridge. In the long run though it might not be the best one for my daughter, so I may end up pulling her out and homeschooling her.