September has come and gone. It’s nearly Christmas but yet I’m still in shock that all three of my kids are now in school. Sevea has entered third grade and she was the most excited for this year than all the others. She had an amazing summer filled with hanging out with friends pretty much everyday so I was surprised that she had so much enthusiasm for the school year. Maybe she knew third grade was a year I absolutely loved and I knew she’d have an amazing year too. We’re a couple months in and she’s doing great! She has a friend in her class from last year and that always makes it an easier transition. There is more homework this year but she gets to pick and choose each day from a list what she wants to complete and then reads nightly. Her biggest irritation is with a math app that is based on time and accuracy. She is doing so well in Math but the darn timer just makes it hard for her. She is definitely not a competitive person and does not do well with being put on the spot. The app is definitely teaching her more than just math facts.
After 3 years of preschool, Cohen was extremely excited to start Kindergarten. He made it easy on this mom emotionally. He couldn’t wait for the first day and his excitement for school has continued. Although he is learning to value the weekend. He is doing really well in school. He went into Kindergarten with a love for reading. We couldn’t believe our ears all the times we heard him read a word or simple sentences. Now being in Kindergarten for a few months this has just exploded. He’s reading at a first grade level already and will continue to be challenged to read even more. Reading can be such a challenge and a frustration so for this I am thankful it isn’t the case for Cohen. He certainly is not forgetting to challenge and frustrate us though. I don’t know what it is about Kindergarteners but they are a moody bunch at the end of the day. Okay okay I guess I do know. Little brains are learning so much it exhausts them. On top of that Cohen is experiencing a hunger we can’t keep up with. Or rather he is still extremely picky and despite sending a home lunch of things he should like and eat, he often eats very little and gets HANGRY. If only we could get him to read a book on how lots of food is tasty and he should give it a try :)
The third and final Appeldorn child has started her school career. Brynna will also go to school when she is 6 instead of 5. We made the decision to send her to two years of preschool because of the social aspect that I can’t provide with her at home. She can be quite shy with new people. Mix that with a stubborn personality and we knew she would need extra time to adjust to not being with mom all day everyday. We tried to get her all excited for preschool in various ways. We talked all about it. Searched for the perfect to her backpack. We read her the night before preschool book she got. She seemed excited and I was really hopeful the first day would go great.
She woke up excited. Had an amazingly happy morning and didn’t show any signs of anxiety about preschool at home or on the drive to school. Then it came time to leave her. She had the same teacher that Sevea had (but she was only a baby then). Cohen also had this teacher for half of a year (but he was bussed to school most of the time). So while she didn’t remember or know the teacher that well, I did and it certainly helped in the next days/weeks. The first drop off was ok. She started crying when she saw the teacher and didn’t want to answer the question of the day or put her name on the board. She eventually did it and reluctantly walked in. I followed her and we found a cool magnet puzzle and I gave her a hug. She requested a kiss and after I walked away. She had begun her first day of school. Things went well that first day. She cried a little she said that day but she was excited and happy at pickup.
The following days which turned into a couple weeks were HARD! She cried almost everyday when it was time for me to leave. She clung to me and had to be pulled away from me. She did not talk about school with excitement each morning. Her teacher was really great in this transition and I was so happy to have comfortability with her already. However she did enjoy school. She talked about how much fun it was at pickup. After a good two weeks or so things got better due to a little push from mom and dad. Remember she’s stubborn so she just kept holding on to that fear or anxiety I think because she could. She received 3 candy at the end of the day if she did well at school and home. What do you know? It worked. She now loves school and ALL her teachers. She still does not like new people which is why she’ll definitely benefit from another year of preschool. Although academically she is doing really great. She is making it hard on this mom to know what to do with her next year. She knew A LOT of what is expected of them by the end of the year after quarter one ended. She truly has a love of learning and picks up on so much (bigger siblings totally helps!) I’m excited to see how much she changes this year. Hopefully that fear of new people diminishes greatly!
