Monday, October 13, 2008

Alyssa's Second First Day of Kindergarten

So I went to the meeting on Thursday. Wednesday evening, and Thursday morning I was feeling quite protective of my daughter, and I was ready to put her in a different school if anyone said anything that wasn't to my liking. And I was very, very nervous.

Everything went great, though. It was a huge meeting: the principal, school counselor, reading teacher, someone in the school district board, the district behavioral specialist, Alyssa's teacher, the student teacher, and me. But everyone seemed to come into the meeting with the attitude let's do what's best for Alyssa.

We talked about the problems she's been having, and at the end of the meeting we came to the conclusion that she just wasn't ready for first grade yet. She was having a hard time staying focused all day long, she was having a hard time sitting still, etc. So we signed her up for kindergarten, and she started today.

She didn't seem to mind much when I told her. Her main concerns were missing lunch at school (she loved that!) and being the tallest in her class (she's not even close). We talked all weekend long about how excited we were that should could go to kindergarten, and how much fun it would be. She was really excited to go, so after lunch we walked her to school to meet her teacher, Mrs. Tolrud.

Alyssa had a great time looking around the classroom and finding her spot at a table. Then she went outside to play with the other kids, before class started. That's when I made sure she wasn't the tallest, and I watched her play with the other kids. She just seemed to fit in better than she did with the first graders. I think things are going to work out a lot better now.

4 comments:

NaDell said...

Yeah! I'M SO GLAD! It's good that you were so upbeat about it with her too. So, you said she's in afternoon now? Missing lunch at school just means you do more picnics on the floor at home for lunch, right? My girls love that. See you next week?

Brooklet said...

Good! I am so impressed that your school was so proactive in trying to decide what was best of Alssa. I am glad that you feel good about the decision and that Alyssa has a great attitude about starting in Kindergarten.

Morgan has an August birthday, also. I know it will be a tough decision about whether to start her when she is five, or hold her back one year, so she isn't the youngest in the class. I know people say that it depends on the child, but I still worry about knowing what will be the best for her. My sister-in-law decided to hold her august birthday girl back a year, because she heard from some people that they regretted not holding their august birthday back, but she never heard anyone say they regretted holding their child back a year. So to make a long rambing short (too late), it is good to have friends who have to go threw these experiences earlier than I, so I can gather the wisdom of your experience.

Cali said...

I'm so glad that it was a positive experience. She is such a great girl, and I'm sure that school will be a much more positive experience for her now, which is great!

And good for you for doing what is best for your little girl. You seem really in tune with her needs and I admire your proactive approach to making her experiences the best that they can be. Good for you!

Katie B.C. said...

Wow, what an experience! This is a hard decision and I can't believe that you had to go through all of this with your husband being gone! Good job. It seems like so much has been going on for you and you are strong to be able to do it all after so much going on with moving and without husband support being right there. Good luck to you and Alyssa!