There, there, Jess -- we all know he's Very Advanced.

I thought that went without saying.

Jake was the only kid of ours tested for kindergarten, and he put on a hell of a show, attention-getting and sassy and generally off the walls. They still admitted him, although I will say now that was probably a mistake.

They may have decided that it's economically smarter to let her go and let the other girl stay. Which is poor child development, but sound finances. Bah.

Well, it's probably more complicated than that. They may be weighing a bunch of factors. When Franny was in preschool, she had a classmate with significant behavior issues. Not just hitting, scratching and biting, which are problems, but developmentally they aren't out of the ordinary. He peed on other students, peed on Franny's clothes, threw food at her regularly, etc. Parents complained (including me of course), teachers complained, but they tried to keep him enrolled. The school clearly was motivated by benign intentions, but in the end I think everyone felt a bit betrayed. Parents like me who felt the space wasn't entirely safe for their children, and the parents of the boy who was finally asked to leave.

is there really and truly a ban on smilies? It's amazing you all haven't kicked me out yet.

It's not formal or anything, but Buffistas are generally Down On Emoticons as a culture.

Jessica, it's possible my experiences with Owen have warped my perspective.

:-)

t /smartass

Yeah, that tag doesn't close!

:-) --> :-(

They want stuff like using scissors, holding pencils in a tripod grip

Wow- I learned this is kindergarten. Also colors and numbers and the alphabet. And possibly the difference between boys and girls.

:-) --> :-(

I think it's more like

:-) -> @@