Sorry, I've not been around the past few days but...it's been a little rough around here. Abby's first day of kindy went well but that's were it ended. When I was putting her to bed after her first day I asked her "If she was all excited to go back tomorrow" her comment (with sheer horror on her face) "You mean...I have to go BACK?" She was not a happy camper! The past two days have been a bit of a nightmare. Lots of tears, a gazillion excuses (she's good) and worst of all she is very angry with me...because I am the one who does the morning routine of getting everyone up, motivated, fed, dressed, etc. Not to mention that we are pals and how could I do this to her? and send her away. On her first full day she got into trouble and had to sit during recess because she wasn't listening and she was talking too much...Imagine that! When she gets home from school she is just all over the place with her emotions....one minute happy the next sad the next seriously p!@#$% Off! Yesterday afternoon she completely fell apart and curled up in my lap and cried and cried because she said she "missed me so much and school is too long and it just sucks!!!" It just broke my heart. I held her close and wiped away her tears and told her how much I missed her too. Honestly, this is a tough transition for both of us.
I have to admit that I am a bit hyper-sensitive after what happened to Elliott in kindy and how it changed him and his spirit and I won't let that happen to my Abby. But I also know that I have to give it a little time to see if she adjusts and really loves it or not. I am ready to pull her out if I need to, but I want her to give it a chance. In principle, I think she will love it. All those kids to play with and all the fun activities, but the regimen and rules might be a bit much for her. Because my kids didn't go to preschool and I chose to keep them at home with me they are not at all used to so much structure. Therefore Abby is lost and confused about sooooo many rules and regulations. She is so much of a free spirit she doesn't understand why she has to stand in line like a little soldier and why it's not okay to fly like a fairy to the lunchroom. Actually, it's very sad. As, I write this post I even question myself as to why I am sending her. But I promised myself to give it a chance and not jump the gun. Thank goodness the weekend is almost here.
Dawn
6 comments:
It is hard, there's no doubt about it. My Bailey was much the same way. She came home from the first day of public school in tears - she was shocked by how many rules there were and why was it a big deal to talk on the way to lunch? :)
It took about 2 weeks, and she adjusted just fine - now it was painful for ME to keep pushing her out of the car door, but I did and it finally worked itself out.
Keep the faith!
She will react by how you react. As hard as it was to not tell SweetPea how much I missed her (habit! and I really did! but she took it in a sad way rather than a happy way), I had to think of positive things and remind her of how much her teacher loves her... being the helper to other kids who are having a hard time and to ask them to be her friend (which actually really helped - it gave her a mission and something else to think about rather than herself)... and she actually DID IT! I was so proud of her! Anyway, you can't let her hear or know any of your reservations. If she is as close to you as SweetPea is to me (and I'm certain she is), they pick up on our emotions all too well.
Thanks so much for your support! You are so right. It's very difficult to not let her know how much I miss her, but I think I covered it pretty well. I only pout when she can't see me. Hopefully today will be better! I am keeping myself busy by baking up a storm. The kids are going to have lots of goodies to feast on when they come home. Cake, brownies and cookies... I haven't had any...I swear!
Seeeeeee!?! Goodies to come home to will make school all the more fun knowing what they get to have at the end of the day. ;)
Oh Dawn, I feel your pain. We already talked about how hard it was for Noah and how he cried. Now, he doesn't even give me a backwards glance when he walks into school. It took a full week . . .by the second week he was starting to like it there. It's hard isn't it?
My daughter used to get in trouble in kindergarten for humming to herself at her little work table -- she was always so full of music but the soft humming drove her teacher nuts! I thought that was so sad! But we got through it.
Now she is an elementary teacher herself, and when she has a little one going through a tough transition, she always tries to give that child a special job to do in class -- the line leader, the sticker-passer-outer, what have you. She says it almost always works to create an opportunity for success. Maybe Abby's teacher could do the same for her?
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