Wilkins' World: First Week of Kindergarden

Friday, August 28, 2009

First Week of Kindergarden

The first day of school was a success. Hannah was happy and ready to get there. I knew she would be excited and go right in, but I didn't know drop off would be so quick that I wouldn't even have time to get sad! I did get choked up on the way to work thinking about not having her with me every day and looking back and only seeing Luke. But I know she is ready, she needs new challenges and the structure. Her teacher, Mrs. Sylvester, is new at Marion but has a lot of experience and seems like she will be more on the strict side. All good things for a girl whose creativity and high energy can be hard to contain at times. So far Hannah has made a few friends - Skylar, Alica, Reese are names that I've heard. She plays "Simon Says" at recess in the shade with Morgan, is singing new songs, and telling me the names of the books they read.

The second day of school was not so good! When she got in the car she completely lost it and kept asking me for "a second chance". She told me right away she got her color changed and just could not quit sobbing. My heart was breaking for her. I was torn...feeling it was unffair of the teacher to start disciplining so soon, but also understanding the need to set the tone of the class. Hannah explained that she got in trouble for chewing on her dress string during class. We asked her if she thought it was because she was talking or not paying attention. Since this was the last thing the teacher said to her she thought that was what she did wrong. We decided to email the teacher and her response was...."Hi Mrs. Wilkins, I appreciate your concern about our behavior code. Hannah had to pull her cards because she would answer questions, smart girl that she is, when it was someone else's turn. Another student raised their hand and was about to say and answer and Hannah would just say the answer for them. Needless to say, this was upsetting for the students who were about to get to say something. I made sure that Hannah was able to answer many questions when she raised her hand or it was her turn. She is doing much better today." Sounds like our Hannah! No more color changes the rest of the week.

The third day of school she was exhausted and NOT happy that I parked across the street to pick her up. She had another melt down the instant she left the pickup line. Fortunately we made it to the car (stopping to pet the puppy helped some) and once she got home she was okay.
After school the fourth day, we went to Sonic happy hour and enjoyed grape slushies. This is when I learned that she got a cookie and OJ at lunch. I had not set up an account or had her memorize her PIN. She says she just moves up the clothespin and gives her name and phone number to get it. As Grandma says, she is just the new girl learning how things work. I better get that account set up!

It's been a fun first week! Excited to see how she matures and what she learns this year.