Judo for Stella?

I was eating strawberries and petit meringues for breakfast on the balcony before heading to work on Thursday. Okay, that’s not exactly a nutritious breakfast option but for some reason I felt like Pavlova that morning and what I had was close enough. The phone rang and it was Stella’s mum on the other end speaking to me very softly. She said that she can’t leave her meeting and requested that I go and pick up Stella ASAP. She added that she would pay for the taxi fares and that she would be home to see Stella. I asked her if something had happened and she told me that Stella had hit another child. I refused to believe it. I got ready as quickly as I could and left to pick up the alleged fighter in a taxi.

The door to the Kindergarten building was still locked because it was only 11:15 am. From the door, I can see the back of an adult sitting in the office talking to the head teacher of Stella’s class. I waved at her hoping that she would let me in. She didn’t seem to notice me. So, I pressed the buzzer. A helper from the 3 year old class came to let me in. She flashed me a nervous smile. As I walked past the office, I waved again at her teacher. At the same time, I noticed the other woman sitting in the office. She is the mother of Daniel and she looked pretty angry. The teacher’s assistant saw me as I reached the classroom and she pointed at the wooden pyramid (sorry, I don’t know the exact name of this piece of furniture). It is a wooden cubby for up to two children to play in and it has mirror walls. I bent down and saw through the entrance a tired looking Stella lying down on the floor of the cubby with a book. I greeted her and she came out quickly to give me a big hug. She said, “I just want to go home, @#*-@#*.” I told her that we are going home. The teacher’s assistant came over to tell me that Stella’s mum had agreed for Stella to be taken home early for the day. The specialist music teacher was obviously standing in while the head teacher was in the office with Daniel’s mum. She came over to inform me that they will be speaking to Stella’s parents about what happened. I was a little annoyed that I wasn’t told what happened but I am not the child’s parent and it is just not a good idea to discuss the child’s behaviour or matters like this in front of a roomful of little children. I then invited Stella to help me gather her things at her locker. The teacher’s assistant tried to be friendly by reminding me that Stella’s buggy is down the hallway. Uh-duh! As I sorted through her things, I quickly looked around to see if Daniel was in the classroom and noticed that he was outside with a group of children from the 3 yr old programme. Was he isolated from his own group? I had a feeling that he has something to do with what happened. He has always been pretty physical with the other children. That reminded me of Alexandra. From the lockers, I could see the action happening in the 3 yr old class. The head teacher of that group flashed me a nervous smile as well. I then said goodbye to everyone, trying hard to appear not bothered. Stella is usually very friendly and will greet or say goodbye without prompting but that day she managed to only say goodbye to the teacher’s assistant. I didn’t want to force her. I could see that the little girl just wanted to leave. Something happened and this is not the time to start demanding excellent manners.

After I signed the log book, we went to get her buggy and as usual we had trouble retrieving hers among the rest of the other buggies. To get the buggy, I had to manoeuvre the other buggies like the game called Rush Hour – Traffic Jam Puzzle. While doing that, I noticed that the blinds in the office had been lowered. Once she was strapped in, I wheeled her out. I didn’t need to ask for help to open the security door this time. It just happened that the helper that let us in was entering from outside and she held the door open for us. We were leaving the carpark when a familiar looking car drove in. Before I said anything, Stella was calling out, “Mummy!”

Once the car was parked, she came over to us. I was sitting on a nice garden bench and Stella was still strapped into her Mountain Buggy. She greeted me with a smile but I could see that she was a little stressed. She asked Stella in a gentle voice, inquiring about what happened in the morning. Stella told her mum that she was talking to Christina when Daniel kicked her friend in the face. I imagined Daniel’s high kick aiming at Christina’s face. Stella’s mum asked if she hit anyone and Stella confessed that she pushed Daniel over and he fell backwards. Her mum told her to never hit someone no matter what happened. Stella then said, “I pushed him because he laughed at Christina.”

Stella’s mum asked us to wait in the car while she spoke to the teacher. She gave me her keys so I could place the buggy in the boot. After strapping Stella into her car seat I sat next to her. No, Stella didn’t suffer a heatstroke. This nanny did leave the door nearest to herself opened and it wasn’t a warm day. After nearly half an hour, Stella’s mum emerged from the building. Stepping out with her were Daniel and his mum, and Stella’s teacher. They said goodbye to each other and the teacher waved at us. We waved back. I could see that Daniel was trying to break free from his mum. He dashed past Stella’s mum, who was heading towards the car, to say goodbye to Stella. His mum was yelling after him. Stella’s mum held his hand until his mum caught up to walk him back to their car. As we were getting out of the carpark, Stella said, “What Daniel did is dangerous, mum.”

The trip home was only short but Stella was already sound asleep when we arrived. Her mum got her out of the car and went straight up to her bedroom. I got the buggy out of the car and then put the kettle on. Stella’s mum came to join me and told me what she believed to have happened earlier.

When the children were playing outside in the morning, Stella decided at some stage that she wanted to have a go ‘painting’ with shaving cream at the transparent easel. As she was putting on her smock, Christina came over demanding to have a go first. Stella refused to let the girl jump queue but Christina carried on until the teacher’s assistant came over suggesting that Stella call out for Christina when she had finished ‘painting’. Christina went on to ride a scooter. Minutes later, Stella called out for Christina. At the same time, Daniel was calling out for someone to help him with his laces and Christina came to his aid. As Christina was tying Daniel’s laces, Stella came over to let Christina know that it was her turn. For reasons that only Daniel would know, he gave Christina an almighty kick in the face. On seeing that, Stella pushed Daniel over and he fell backwards. The adults didn’t see Daniel’s kick but they saw Stella pushing Daniel over while Christina clutched her own face, screaming hysterically. Her nose was bloody and she accused both Daniel and Stella of hitting her. Daniel and Stella were ordered to wait in the classroom with the helper while first aid was offered to Christina in the office. Not knowing the extent of the injuries, an ambulance was called and Christina’s parents were informed. Another teacher, who is also a family friend, went with her. The version that was relayed to me was what Stella’s mum was told. The information was gathered from the children and the adults present at the time. None of the adults witnessed Daniel kicking Christina in the face but he admitted to it. He apparently found it quite amusing! The adults did however see Stella pushing Daniel over.
Before going back to her work, Stella’s mum did try to contact Christina’s mum at their house but was told that they were still at the doctor’s. Stella was rather down for the rest of the day. She didn’t want to go to the park to see Lachlan and I had to cancel the play-date. Even yoghurt with blueberries didn’t cheer her up. All she wanted was for me to read her picture books. I think I read 15! After that, she did some drawing until her father came home early. She told him how Christina had to be taken to the hospital because Daniel kicked her in the face. I will post an update to this incident after I hear more about it. I won’t be looking after Stella again until next Wednesday.