Joining In – Living Arrows.  As you all know, my son isn’t the sort of child who likes to be the centre of attention.  He’s a happy little wall flower.  He’s definitely coming out of his shell a little more in very small groups and with friends we’ve got to know over a long time.  But with family he doesn’t see often, he’ll barely say a word.  At school I understand that sometimes now he will actually volunteer information when asked a question in class. But in general he is happiest keeping his head down and blending in with the background.

He hates dressing up days and last year was the first World Book Day event where he actually wanted to join in.  I thought that Hiccup might well be back on Thursday but apparently not.  We’re settling with Peter from Peter’s Railway book series. No dressing up involved!  Apparently they want him to dress up as his sporting hero in a few weeks for Sports Relief. That went down like a lead balloon, but I’ve suggested he could go as Sebastian Vettel if I buy him a red boiler suit and draw a Ferrari logo on it.  I might even lend him one of my signed baseball caps if he promises faithfully not to lose it!

Anyway, late on Wednesday evening last week I spotted something on the school’s parents Facebook page, telling us that as it was World Thinking Day the next day, and children who attended a Girl Guides or Scout Association Group could wear their uniform to school in the morning.  So I tentatively suggested to my son that he could wear his Cubs uniform to school the next day.  Normally he needs time to get used to any change in routine and I fully expected him to refuse immediately.  But I could see he was thinking about it. There are two girls in his class who are in the same Cubs group and I saw both their Mums had said they’d be dressing for the day.  He wasn’t sure, so I suggested he wear his Cubs uniform to school and take his school uniform in a bag in case he wanted to change.  He went to bed thinking about it.

I fully expected him to have decided he’d just wear his school uniform but no.  Mummy, I’m going to wear my school polo shirt under my Cubs sweatshirt, and take my school sweatshirt in my bag.  Then if I want to change I don’t have to show everyone my tummy.  Sounds like a really good plan, I said.  He also mentioned that he’d got Art in the afternoon and he was happier to get his school uniform messy, rather than his Cubs uniform.  What consideration!

So I was left wondering all day whether his joining in would see him wearing his Cubs uniform for more than the first few minutes at school.  Imagine my surprise when I stood in the line waiting to pick him up from his class and saw this Cub waving at me from the window.  Blimey, he’d kept it on all day!  Amazed.