Birthday Fun At School

Today I had the pleasure of spending lunchtime with Connor at his school in order to share birthday cupcakes with his classmates. I needed a nap immediately following. The cafeteria is possibly one of the LOUDEST places I have ever been in my life. But, it did solve some mysteries for me about how lunch with first graders actually works. My observations:


1. He sits with his class--at the non-peanut boys end of the table.


2. Its a constant rotating schedule. As one class leaves one table, another is filing in to fill it. This is very different than my elementary school where lunch was in two or three blocks of time for everyone.


3. He goes BACK to class for awhile before heading out to Recess. That's just stupid. They are so wound up after the freedom of that 30 minute lunch zoo, I don't know how they learn ANYTHING in that next 25 minutes.


4. The cafeteria team told me that they estimate that about 60-75% of the food brought by the kids or purchased for lunch is actually just thrown away. Frightening. But looking around, I believe that to be true.


5. My friend Karina was there to have lunch with her daughter Megan at the other end of the table. She told me that every single day (she goes alot) is major DRAMA with the girls having to do with "Today you are not my friend." "Today I will sit with X and Y and not with you." etc. None of that went on at the boys end of the table. They just pile into the seats and then see who can do the grossest thing with their food.


6. The girls have better manners than the boys. WAY. As Connor handed out the cupcakes, almost every single girl thanked him, thanked me, and asked what they were and complimented them. Not one boy said thank you. They just shoved them straight down their gullets. I don't care. I'd rather not get a thank you and know that they are nice to each other vs. all those girls saying thank you and then treating each other like crap. Ugh.



But, the treats were a major hit. We made Pebbles Cupcake treats and iced them with real buttercream icing in Connor's choice of blue. (Bob said that it looked like Avatar poop.) And Connor was so proud to hand them out and to walk me around the cafeteria to all his friends and staff and pat my belly and tell everyone "She's not fat. She's "pregnit". Too cute. And despite his hyperactivity, it seemed to me that all of the adults really like him. This is no surprise---he's always engaged above his age group!