This school thing is harder than I thought. I know Owen will succeed and gain confidence and be the excellent Kindergartener that I know he can be, but so far this week has been filled with a lot of tears and temper and exhaustion.
Day 1 went great, but when I picked him up after that long, long day ( 9:05-3:35pm) he was hot and sweaty and the first thing he said was "I need more snack!!!!" So we sat down and had some water and snack before heading home. I couldn't get a lot of information from him except they had 2 recesses.
Day 2 when I picked him up after school he started crying the instant he saw me and basically didn't stop for 30 minutes. Apparently they read a story in class with pictures that scared him, and for various reasons he wasn't able to recover. He teetered on the edge of his emotions all evening long and then practically fell asleep in his dinner.
Day 3: With a wavering lip and a brave chin up he promised me he would have a good day and did! But when I picked him up after today's early dismissal (they have one early day a week), he spent the afternoon bickering with Elliot, grabbing toys and crying in frustration that Elliot was messing up his stuff. Then as he started getting ready for bed (again, exhausted), he was on the verge of tears again and I asked him what was wrong and he said something about wanting to stay home from school on Friday so he could have a chance to play with Elliot some more. Oh no.
Day 4: It was a rough start today. Owen dragged his feet and didn't want to go, and there were some tears and trepidation. But, luckily our neighbors came over to walk down to school with us. Yay! At the sight of his friends, Owen perked up and loved the walk to school. He went into his class with a wave and a smile and Elliot and I went home (no tears from Elliot this morning!!!). All day long I wondered: would it be a good day or a bad day? At 3:35 I went to pick him up and thankfully it was all good. He had a fun day, made some new friends and finally started telling me about what he does during the day... whew. I feel incredibly better about the whole thing after today. Here's hoping he remembers the good and not the bad come Monday morning.
So, in hindsight there are several reasons why this week has been so long -- not least of which is that everything is so brand new. This is a whole new way of spending our days, and it's not easy. Also, I've figured out that he's a little apprehensive about losing his tooth while eating, and he's been saying he isn't hungry, even when he is. So, he hasn't been eating enough at snack or lunch. AND lunch isn't until 12:50pm. That may not seem late to some of you, but believe me it is! He's used to eating lunch at 12 and without a proper snack he is seriously starving by 12:30. Which leads to? You guessed it: crying jags, temper and tiredness. Add to that the fact that we are having a late summer heat wave and we have no air-conditioning in our house. Which normally isn't a problem, but add it to this heady brew of short-tempers and exhaustion and you've got an emotional maelstrom happening.
So, it's been rough. Did you notice I haven't even said anything about actual learning ( like reading, math, science, etc)? I guess I'm really realizing that starting Kindergarten is alot more about emotional adjustment. After today's good day, Owen told me they had "centers" today at school, and one of the centers was puzzles. GOOD! That probably made him feel better immediately!
Let's hope he gets some good food and rest this weekend (and finally loses that tenacious tooth) so he can head to school on Monday without any worries at all!
3 comments:
This brings a tear to Grandma. What pressure for a 5 year old!! Is it permissible to have a quick snack at recess - maybe something that fits in the pocket? How can these little guys concentrate when they are starving? I am praying for a better week coming. Maybe cooler weather as well. Owen will shine in the "puzzle center". Love you Owen. We are waiting to hear about your tooth status. GG
Well, I have to say that brings tears to Aunt Carol, also! What an obnoxiously long day for a 5 year old. Lisa's kids only had school all day every other day in Kindergarten and Hallie only has half days every day. Owen could be one of the many of us Ramseyers that deals with low blood sugar when we get hungry! It is horrid that they do this to a kindergarten! Owen, I's so glad I'm not your mother because I would be sitting down and crying right with you! Cheers to Lisel. It sounds like an emotional week but you seemed to stay on top of it somehow. Have Owen bob for apples--that is how Max lost his first tooth at the Ramseyer reunion. He quite grieved about his huge loss when it happened!!!
I'm going to pray harder for you come Monday morning, Owen!! God bless you, my little boy, I love you!
Aunt Carol
It sounds like his kindergarten is VERY much like ours with the hours and the "centers" and such, and if so, the snack is actually given the SAME TIME as recess. You can take it outside and everything, as long as the trash goes into the bin.
It gets easier once its routine.
We noticed outbursts of tempers and anger every single time Noah went back to kindergarten from a break. Its always fun to go back and see your friends, but once he realized that its the long haul again, he would have a freak out day, so watch for that.
Also, try to give him some alone time with a parent on the weekends if possible. They sometimes get jealous of "staying home with mommy".
Good luck!
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