Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Reality is Settling In....

Miss A last week with her mother's kindergarten rest mat. Nana had kept it all these years. She took it for a day, but it was too big for her cubby. She was, however, able to share with two other kids that day that did not have a mat. Yes, my mother had taken my name off the rug so A could use it.

Miss A woke up yesterday morning crying. She wasn't sure she wanted to go to Kindergarten anymore. She couldn't believe it really lasted "all day long" and that it was every single day.

Nana to the rescue. She made Miss A a brand new rest pillow. Purple on one side and green on the other. She loved it!

When asked if she was enjoying school, her response with quick and, with a smile, said, "Yes!" She just doesn't understand why it has be every day. She misses mom. She misses her time alone in her room with the door closed, playing barbies, and having conversations with "stuffies" (Stuffed animals).
.
At breakfast, she told me that she didn't understand why it couldn't be more like Preschool hours. Just the mornings; No afternoons. She said, "it's not like I'm learning all that much anyway, can't they get it done in half the time."
.
You gotta love how quickly she's picked up on the reality of the educational system. Quite a bit of down time, a lot of time spent doing the "extras." Now I know that at this point I can explain to her that she is learning new skills, rules, and routine while making new friends. I am just not sure she'll believe me!
.
My husband said that it was sinking in that this was her "new life" for the next thirteen years. Thanks for that reality check honey!
.
Deep down, I know that she is really loving it. She walks out the classroom door each afternoon with a smile on her face and gives me a thumbs up. Transitions are hard though, even ones that we like. She's tired, a little unsettled with all that's new, and she's trying to figure it all out.
.
She asked me if I thought they would at least get Christmas Day off of school. I told her I was pretty sure that they would. Then we looked at the calendar and saw that they have three days off school in September alone. There goes the theory of getting use to routine.
.
Just so you don't think my older kids are without transition stress; Mr C came home yesterday and said that he thinks his math teacher thinks that Geometry should be his life. She actually gave him homework. Welcome to reality son!
.
Miss M laughed as she opened her math book and said you think you have it hard, I've got math homework and the teacher never even explained the problem just wrote the assignment on the board and said see you next time. Wow.
.
What is they say....reality stinks sometimes!

No comments: