Brave Pin

Gillian's school has a program where they earn brave slips for doing stuff and after you earn so many they receive the brave pin. Gillian received her brave pin today...it was a huge honor for her and a huge honor to us as parents. We were invited to go see her receive her pin.

Pajama Day at School

Learning to Read!

Gillian is learning to read at school (so excited!) These are her first two words and she needs to high five them in order to get in the fridge.

Leader

It was Gillian’s leader day in school. The first words out of her mouth when I woke her were – It’s my leader day! To say she was excited was an understatement. I put all her normal supplies in her backpack plus her snack to share with the class (some fruit by the foot snack with Scooby-Doo on the box) and her pink dog which was for her show and tell. I was impressed that Gillian ran down a mental check list when she was getting ready to go out the door and me telling her that I put them in the bag wasn’t good enough, she had to check for herself (she is so much like me). I crossed my fingers that the day went as she had hoped.

When Gillian got home she was in a great mood. She loved how her leader day went and is already looking forward to the next one. She even kissed Ned the fish (I had been told prior to this day that she was not kissing Ned the fish…lol). She did tell me how she thought it was unfair that she didn’t get to be leader out to the buses at the end of the day, which I explained was so her teacher could get the right people on the correct bus. She seemed okay with that answer but not overly impressed with the idea.

No help needed...

I spoke to Gillian’s teacher this morning and she again reassured me that Gillian is doing just fine. She is shyer than the other kids but she said it’s still normal. She said she participates in class and does interact with the other kids and does do parallel play which is normal for Gillian’s age. She said she made a special point of watching Gillian in school on Friday and she saw nothing out of the ordinary. She told me that Gillian is sweet and intelligent and is going to do wonderfully in Kindergarten.

Just what I needed to hear!

Trying to help...

I didn’t tell Gillian that I had sent a note into the teacher asking if there was anything that we could do or that could be done at school to help her become more comfortable.

Gillian’s teacher called (while we were eating so I didn’t get to take the call) and left a message that Gillian was an extremely sweet child and that she is shy but she is participating so she will probably just need a bit more time than other kids. She said she would call back after watching her on Friday with more information. She was very reassuring that I had nothing to worry about.

This helped Craig and I feel so much better.

Open House

I went to Gillian's school's open house tonight...what a NIGHTMARE! I’ve decided there should be a handbook that you are given (I would even buy it if necessary) that gives you the background on the first year of your child’s schooling (so you know what to expect). How was I going to know that open house is a zoo? I wish I would have dressed appropriately for the extremely hot temperatures as all the parents, children and teachers piled in to the gym. There were enough people that all the seats were taken so it was standing room only and we were there before it started! After the introductions were done, we were told we could wander the school and get check out our child’s classrooms. Before we got out of the gym a couple kids had yelled to Gillian saying hi. Gillian hid behind me. This would help explain why she has not made any friends.

We headed to Gillian’s class, and stopped for apple cider on the way as I was dying of thirst from the extreme temperature of the gym. Gillian’s teacher arranged for a scavenger hunt…good idea in theory but not the best idea in large groups of people and over excited children. I spent the entire time trying to keep up with my 5 year old that knew exactly where she was going…I did not. So after 50 minutes and a completed scavenger hunt…we headed home.

I got home, got Gillian showered and into bed. I sat down on the couch and I knew exactly why my child wasn’t thrilled about meeting new people. I felt overwhelmed and exhausted. I’m now prepared for next year.

Dress #2