Home Ed Meeting - All is Not Well Though · Wednesday May 2, 2007 by Abbie
Today was a big day. It was the home ed meeting! But sadly it wasn’t that good of a day.
Ram couldn’t really settle to anything in the morning as he was anxious about the meeting. I did read to him while he was playing with Lego but we didn’t get very far.
After an early lunch we set off to the hall. Because we have to drive 15-20 minutes to get there (depends on how many tractors we get stuck behind!) we always seem to be first there. Another family arrived just after us so I went over and introduced myself. Ram just stayed in the car at first.
He did come out eventually and just clung to my side. When the others arrived we carried some of the things in that we brought. We were doing tie-dyeing today, so I brought a pot of natural dye. This time it was carrot tops. By then others had arrived but Ram didn’t want to be outside with them. He just wanted to be inside alone with me.
He was really eager to do the tie-dyeing, as last time we did this his t-shirt came out looking like the Dr Who swirly bits! He finally went outside when we started to prepare the things to be dyed. We didn’t have any t-shirts this time so we brought some hankies, or snot rags as he likes to call them.
We got our things in the dye vats, and then the children went to play. Ram didn’t really want to, he just wanted the things to be dyed so we could go home.
Eventually he joined in, but I could tell he wasn’t keen. He just kept asking me when we could take the things out.
There were only three other families when we first joined this group, but home education has become so popular that the group has grown hugely in the last year. I counted up and there were about 45 people there today. It is just getting to much for Ram. I am glad that they were able to play outside. If it was raining and we were all inside I think we would have had to leave.
We finally took the items out but Ram was disappointed. It seems that we may have left the smaller items in too long and the dye seeped through so that it wasn’t very spectacular.
When if was finally time to go I couldn’t find Ram. He had gone down in the little tiny woodland beside the hall, to the far end, by himself. I guess it was quieter there for him.
We talked about it on the way home and he said that it is just too busy and noisy for him there now. It is a shame because I have lots of fibre type things that I would love to be able to teach people how to do, but Ram needs to come first before the group.
They are starting a second meeting each month that is going to be war games workshops, and just for the older ones, but I have a feeling that it won’t work either. So I don’t know what I am going to do. I really like the people at the group, and I get to socialise a little, but if it is not working for Ram, we will have to decided what to do, and if that means that we don’t go, then so be it.
Once Ram is much older, I will still have time to catch up on my social life. But if Ram is traumatised by too much social contact now, then he isn’t going to become that happy boy that will want to be separate from his mum in years to come!
