Well, the first 3 days of kindergarten were just fine and dandy!
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By day 4, Janelle was ready to be done. She was tired and just not used to being away from home so long. She missed her mommy, her daddy, and her brother.
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On Thursday I dropped her off in the morning and could tell she was on the verge of tears as I hugged her goodbye. To ease her fears I gave her an extra hug and then sent her into class. Fortunately Kyle had the morning off, so he went and had lunch with her that day. She came home with another report of good behavior and a note from her teacher telling me that she had been chosen to be the line leader! Of course I made a huge deal out of that and told her, "See it's kind of fun getting to do things like that!"
She wasn't convinced. Her prayer before bed that night went something like this...
"Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for this day. Thank you for my family. Please bless me to have a fun day tomorrow and that I don't have to go to school anymore..."
*Sigh*
So the next morning I dropped her off and she couldn't hold back the tears any longer. Oh boy, let me tell you how much that broke my heart! It was SO hard to leave her there! But I had to be strong and assure her it would be okay. I gave her an extra hug again and promised her that if she was a nice, happy girl that there would be a surprise waiting for her when she got home.
It worked. She put on a brave face and forced a smile on and waved as she marched with her class into the hall.
.
.
.
Now what to do?
I thought about making her cookies, but shot that idea down wanting to do something different.
Next I came up with this idea:
.
.
.
By day 4, Janelle was ready to be done. She was tired and just not used to being away from home so long. She missed her mommy, her daddy, and her brother.
.
On Thursday I dropped her off in the morning and could tell she was on the verge of tears as I hugged her goodbye. To ease her fears I gave her an extra hug and then sent her into class. Fortunately Kyle had the morning off, so he went and had lunch with her that day. She came home with another report of good behavior and a note from her teacher telling me that she had been chosen to be the line leader! Of course I made a huge deal out of that and told her, "See it's kind of fun getting to do things like that!"
She wasn't convinced. Her prayer before bed that night went something like this...
"Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for this day. Thank you for my family. Please bless me to have a fun day tomorrow and that I don't have to go to school anymore..."
*Sigh*
So the next morning I dropped her off and she couldn't hold back the tears any longer. Oh boy, let me tell you how much that broke my heart! It was SO hard to leave her there! But I had to be strong and assure her it would be okay. I gave her an extra hug again and promised her that if she was a nice, happy girl that there would be a surprise waiting for her when she got home.
It worked. She put on a brave face and forced a smile on and waved as she marched with her class into the hall.
.
.
.
Now what to do?
I thought about making her cookies, but shot that idea down wanting to do something different.
Next I came up with this idea:
I cleaned her room and then taped hearts all over her room with little messages on them..
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When we got home I told her to go put her shoes away in her room (of course I followed her with the camera!). She opened her door, and was surprised and VERY excited! She's such a girly girl and totally loved it.
...especially the little heart with the Snickers bar on it!
Every girl needs chocolate after a long day, right?!?!
...especially the little heart with the Snickers bar on it!
Every girl needs chocolate after a long day, right?!?!
And to top it off she gets a 3-day weekend!I think it was a good end to a scary and busy first week of kindergarten.
8 comments:
Oh, it's so sad to see kids having a hard time like that! Avary did the same thing with preschool. She loved it at first, and then she just didn't want to go anymore and started crying everytime I took her.
What a great surprise for Janelle to come home to! Knowing she has such a wonderful family supporting her will help her get through transition.
Laura, you are a genius! What a fun room for Janelle to come home to! All the time you took to make it special for Janelle was SO well worth it!!! Look at that BIG smile on her face! And yes, chocolate is always called for! She will be fine when Tuesday comes around and will be missing her new friends.
And how neat that Kyle could go to lunch with her. I need to hear more of that story.
Love ya!
Kay
How creative! I'm sure she did love it, especially the chocolate. You are a great mom!
what an awesome mom you are! she looked so happy. Hope next week is better-she'll do great.
Janelle! Congratulations on completing your first week of school! You are such beautiful and talented girl and I can't believe how fast you have grown up. I miss and love you so much. I'll talk to you soon!
Love, Aunt Hill
What a sweet idea!! Elisabeth was in tears on Friday too. I started to tear up when I saw her so sad.
I must have the odd kid out becaue Josh is just chomping at the bit to get back to school. It must be dull here at home!
I love Heart Attacks! Great idea Laura!
That's sooo cute, and looks like she LOVED it! What a fun mom you are! Hopefully Tuesday will go alot better. :D
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