I really, really hate rain.

Have I mentioned that before? BUT...

Yesterday evening was "Open Day" at school. I got the boys' reports and talked to their teachers.


Warning: Gratuitous Boasting and Motherly Pride To Follow!


Max is a "good natured and responsible child... knows how to behave in any situation and this allows him to have a positive influence on his peers....He is an invaluable asset....keen and fair player... Solves math problems independently..." And so on, and so on. Reading his report makes me blush, I tell you! Max has been awarded an Art Prize, so he gets to go up on stage on Friday night for that.

Sam's report was littered with words like "Excellent... Amazing test.... Walking Encyclopedia... Fantastic...Excels under exam conditions... Congratulations... Lovely use of descriptive verbs and strong active verbs..." Not bad, for the kid who missed three weeks of school and went gallivanting all over the world. Sam will not receive an academic prize this term, for the first time ever, and he is a bit grouchy about that. He will have to sit with me, (in full school uniform, to his disgust!) and watch his brothers get prizes. I think it's a good thing, and will make him realise that prizes don't just COME because you're really smart and cute and all.

Chasbo's report was more mixed: "Working well and improving... could have done better if he had been more settled for the test.... Writes magnificent pieces but... punctuation and paragraphs... natural knowledge of vocabulary... Excellent... Always has interesting information to share... Overlooks the importance of punctuation and following directions... Excellent music student..." Chas' teacher seemed deeply saddened by one of his math marks, which was uncharacteristically terrible. He had had a bad start to that day, and told me that he was sure he had flunked that test. He had. It brought his average down and made him miserable. Chas needs to learn to put the stresses of life out of his head and concentrate on the work at hand. Chas will also recieve an Art Prize on Friday evening.

Our system here is extremely competitive, test-based, and academic. Chas will be in grade five next term, where he will sit our "Eleven Plus" Exam which will hopefully place him in a great government school. I think that to get Fatima College, our favorite, he will have to be getting a consistent ninety-something percent on all tests.

Chas will be sitting that exam in March. I am completely dismayed at the thought of the six months of work, come September. If he doesn't make the grade, Chas can re-sit the following year, but it would be quite a blow to his self-esteem. The general consensus seems to be that he is capable of Ace-ing the Eleven Plus Exam. But. He needs to feel confident, he needs to be focused, he needs to have a positive attitude.

I need to make myself a T-Shirt that says "My Boys Are Amazing, Stupendous, Fantastic, Artistic, Wonderful Geniuses!!! And They're Nice, Too!!!"

I take full credit. Okay, I should give some credit to certain other hard-working people, but THIS IS MY BLOG! HAHAHA! So I take full credit.

So tomorrow evening, Prizes will be handed out, amidst great clapping and hooray-ing, and the graduating class will do their thing which is always great. Chas will be playing and singing, and fun will be had by all. And the most fun will be had by me, the proud Mother of these Amazing, Fantastic, Artistic, Brilliant, Handsome, Talented, ...... Have I missed anything?