Sorry I've been out of pocket for a while... it's been a crazy time. I just signed on to several hundred comments waiting for me, please be patient... I'll reach through and respond in the next few days. I've also taken tons of recent pictures that I'll upload and share with you all as soon as possible.

First, to follow up on the last post about bullies... my Aunt Louis (who is an expert in education) shared some wonderful insight on techniques that the Massachusetts school system has used effectively to counteract bullying. I will  post these within the day to share with you all.

Prior to sharing these insights with our principal, Kajal's teacher chose to take action. I've talked before about working in partnership with teachers... it's so easy to end up in an adversarial position with them but when we step back and put our frustrations aside and reach out with the sincere desire to work together, so much can be accomplished. Kajal's teacher responded to my concern immediately. She called the 'mean girls' in to a group meeting with Kajal and addressed the problem straight out. The children admitted to calling Kajal names and when the teacher asked the group if anyone didn't feel like they fit in... Kajal was brave enough to raise her hand.  The teacher laid out the rules, no saving seats in the lunch room, no more games that only involve two people and no more name calling, period. She had the girls all play a game together at lunch and watched over them and she asked them each who they'd like to be friends with. To Kajal's surprise, many said her name and by the end of the day she truly felt 'one of'' vs. seperate. Since then, there haven't been any problems and Kajal has been so much happier and more secure. Thank goodness...

Give your teachers a chance, don't ignore a problem and brush it aside.. it's worth it to address it and focus on solutions... most teachers really do give a hoot... they want to help, they just don't have the time or energy to figure it all out on their own. In my case, I was lucky, Kajal's teacher did have solutions and she put them to work right away.