It's hard to believe the 50th day of school has come and gone! The school encouraged the kids to dress up in 50's attire. Mimi was amazing and came up with a no-sew poodle skirt for Anna to wear. She was so cute!!
And just so I have it on record, I wanted to give a little update on Anna and kindergarten. The first 3 months of school were a very difficult transition for her and us. I think the school day was just so much longer than before that Anna came home completely exhausted--mentally, physically, and emotionally. She hasn't napped since she was four, but has had rest time almost every afternoon prior to the end of August. We now know she really depended on rest time to refuel. Without that, she came home starving and exhausted and everything caused a meltdown. Every. Little. Thing. Choosing a snack, having to get ready for gymnastics, doing homework, coming downstairs to eat dinner, I mean everything.
So, we had to regroup and find a solution. We cut out almost all after school activities. We stopped piano lessons with Uncle Greg. We stopped going to church on Wednesday nights. We kept gymnastics and soccer because they were the times she saw her old friends from preschool and kind of perked up (and her Daddy was coaching the soccer team). Other than those two nights, we stayed at home. We became super strict about bedtimes and we just helped her adjust gradually.
She kept complaining about school and would cry about having to go. This was the same child who would get upset last year if she had a doctor's appointment and had to miss even a small part of school! Will and I were so concerned and upset. We finally figured out that she was anxious about the behavior policy in her class and was always worried about getting in trouble (because she had gotten in trouble two or three different times). We had to have lots of talks about that and how it was only there to remind her how to behave when she forgot. Academically, she was fine and doing well, but the rest was a bit overwhelming for her. I am happy to say, now that we are past the first quarter, she is doing much better. She has adjusted to the new schedule and is much more pleasant when she gets home. She doesn't love school like before (yet), but she isn't crying that she doesn't want to go. We have figured out how to budget time for homework and play time. She and Jack have spent hours playing outside and getting energy out playing with the neighbors. Even though things are better, if we do have a crazy week she will remind me that she just wants to be at home. She needs that time to decompress. I am just hoping and praying that things will continue to improve and that she will eventually come to love school again like before. I am relieved that those crazy few months are behind us. The good thing is that it made us slow down and spend more quality time at home just being a family. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that!
