my little one started preschool and she LOVES it! she only goes 2 days a week and she's sad that she can't go on the other days! she loves getting to take her lunchbox and she has made friends in her class (although she can't remember anybody's names yet)! she even takes naps during naptime!! this is the same child who hasn't taken a nap for me in two years! i guess she's just so worn out from all of the fun she's having!
then there's the drama queen! she has started a new school this year. she was going to a small christian school for kindergarten and first grade but they are no longer going to have any higher grade levels so we had to find a new school for her. our housing development got rezoned for a brand new elementary school that was just built so we figured this would be the perfect time to try out the public school system. everyone coming into this new school would be new - the teachers, the students, everyone! she could transition to a different school and not have to be "the new kid".
the first week she started crying and saying that she didn't want to go to school (which is completely out of character for her). she has always loved school! it is so disheartening for me to hear her say everyday "i hate school"! this school is very strict - which i guess you have to be when you have this many students and some of them have never been disciplined!
here are some examples of the other things that have been a "buzz-kill" to her: on the first morning of school, my "precocious one" was asked to make something out of clay. she just made it into a ball because she was nervous and didn't know what else to make. her teacher asked her what it was and she said "it's a circle". to which her teacher replied, "wrong! it's not a circle, it's a sphere!" keep in mind, this is the first hour of school! one of the other second grade teachers has a couple class pets (turtle, gerbil, fish) and when drama queen's class asked when they would get a class pet her teacher answered "there is no pet in this classroom and there never will be". she keeps complaining that they won't let them have fun and told her that you don't go to school just to have fun, you are supposed to be learning but she doesn't get to visit with her friends in other classes before school, at lunch, or after school. the boy that has been sitting next to her has been taking her things, pinching her and scratching her. other kids have said "shut up", "you're stupid", "i don't like black people", "i don't like white people" and even "i'm gonna kick your ass"! i went to the principal this week to talk about all of this and it seems to have helped. she has been moved away from that boy and she has actually come home a couple of times now and said she had a good day!
i really hope that things will keep getting better because i want her to like school! especially since she's only in second grade -- she's got plenty of time to hate school when she's in middle school and high school!
