Kindergarten!!

I have to start at the beginning for this post.  In the weeks leading up to Kindergarten, Vera was quite excited.  We carefully labeled all of the school supplies, made a paper chain countdown to Kindergarten, and talked about school a lot.  Vera was excited and ready to go!

A crazy face as the paper chain countdown gets shorter and shorter!

I had planned one last special outing with her before school started.  We took Vince & Annie to Patty's house for the day.  As we were driving away from Patty's, Vera started to cry.  She was so upset because she was going to miss her friends there.  I think it was a harsh realization that her time at Patty's was coming to an end, and she wasn't really ready for that.  I assured her that we were going to have a fun day ahead.  Reluctantly, her tears turned to smiles.

Our first stop was Brilliant Beginnings, Vera's new before/after school daycare.  We met a few teachers, saw some classrooms and checked out the playground.  Our visit was short, but it was nice for Vera to better know what to expect on her first day.

Next we headed to my classroom to drop a few things off and work for a short bit.  Vera loves my classroom.  She's always drawing something on the board and inventing some game with the floor tiles in the hallway.

We ate lunch at Platty's.  Vera was a great lunch date.

Finally, our last stop was All About You for manicures and pedicures.  Adam bought us a gift certificate to have this done as a special mom and Vera treat.  Vera loved it.  She sat really still as her feet soaked in the basin of water.  She was very friendly and talked to the workers at the salon willingly.  She was thrilled when she got to choose from a whole display of nail polish colors.  She chose purple for her manicure and blue for her pedi.  Vera insisted that I have green and pink polish, and just couldn't understand why I didn't pick green polish.

We had a great day together, and Vera was excited to show off her nails to every person she met.  Fun memories!

That evening, we went to Open House at school.  The whole family went.  Vera was acting really silly in a nervous and excited kind of way.  I could tell she was overwhelmed and unsure about it all.  There were lots of people and it was loud!  It started with a short presentation in the gym, of which I missed entirely.  Vince was terribly behaved and refused to sit in the bleachers.  All he wanted to do was climb around, and it was so crowded that we couldn't just let him climb.  He and I stood in the hallway.  After the presentation, we went to Vera's classroom.  That was a borderline disaster.  It was hot in the classroom, and there were lots of things we needed to do: paperwork to complete, a scavenger hunt for Vera, finding her seat, putting away her school supplies and introducing ourselves to Mrs. Billenstein.  All of this, while wrestling Vince and Annie and trying to be most excited and helpful for Vera.

We found her cubby!

Working on the scavenger hunt!

She did speak to Mrs. Billenstein shyly, but totally freaked out when she couldn't find her seat.  I could tell she was panicked, and the panic led to the inability to focus on finding the seat.  With a little help, we did finally find it.  She was happy to find an inflatable Pete the Cat guitar at her seat that was hers to keep.

Vince was a complete liability.  He insisted on roaming around, checking out every single thing.  He squealed loudly when we took something from him or redirected him.  I apologized to Mrs. Billenstein as he was pushing around the class's book bus that was decorated so nicely.  The classroom was so cute, and it was quite evident that Mrs. Billenstein had worked for weeks to have everything just perfect for Open House, and our 2 year-old was in maniac mode touching everything in sight!  By the time we left, I was sweating like crazy and embarrassed!  We were "that" family.  Adam and I both were exhausted when we got home.

After Open House, Vera was really, really uneasy about the idea of Kindergarten.  She started asking crazy questions nonstop.  "What if I'm the shortest person in my class?  What if they laugh at my glasses?  How will I know where to go?  Who will I play with?  Will Mrs. Billenstein like me?"  I was trying so, so hard to ease her fears.  We talked about how it's ok to be nervous, and that all the teachers are nice and helpful, and it will be great to meet new friends.  But as Vera's doubt and uncertainty continued, it became harder and harder for me to be the "cheerleader."  I started running out of positive things to say to her.  She wasn't buying anything I told her.  Finally, one evening after the kids were in bed, I just sat and cried.  It was so hard to watch her go through such anxiety.  It broke my heart to hear her say that no one will like her and they will laugh at her glasses.  I just didn't see any of this coming.  When I would say, "Kindergarten is going to be so fun!" she would respond with, "I just don't know, mom."  :(

At Open House, she was so nervous that she scratched and picked much of the freshly polished manicure away.  When we got home, she was devastated.  She asked me to fix it.  I didn't have the heart to tell her no, so I went to town and bought the purple polish and redid them for her first day of kindergarten.

Thankfully, on the first day of school, Vera woke up excited and ready.  Adam took off a for a few hours so he could be around for the first day.  It was also my first day, so we had a busy morning!

Kindergarten morning!  Taking the last link off of the countdown!  It's time!!

Ready to go!

Vince didn't want to be left out.  He insisted on wearing a "pack pack" also.

She asked for Adam to drop her off at Brilliant Beginnings.  I decided to follow them there to see her off.  It was hard to fight the tears, and as I walked off, my tears started running.  I just couldn't believe it was time to send her to Kindergarten!!  Later that day, Vera said, "Mom, when you left this morning, you were crying.  Why?"  I told her that it was my first  day of school also, and I was sad that summer was over, and that I was going to miss her, Vince and Annie!  Though it's not 100% of the truth, it was quick thinking on my part!

There she goes!  Shine, my little girl, like I know you can!  

Adam took her to her daycare room, and he said she did really well.  She started talking to the teacher, and went to play with the other little girls.  They snapped this awesome picture on their walk to school that morning.  It's an actual printed photograph, so this image isn't as quality as the real thing, but I'm so happy to have it!

Vera had a great first day!  She was excited to tell me about lunch and library time.  She seemed to forget a lot of the details of the day.  When we got home, she was acting really odd--overly dramatic, silly voices, aggressive play.  I knew she was tired, but it really broke my heart to see her act this way.  I kept thinking that kindergarten had changed her already.  Though I knew it wasn't entirely true, the first week was hard.  She wasn't overly eager to go back to school, and seemed overwhelmed with not knowing anyone.  On Thursday evening, I really started to doubt our decision to send her to school.  She was so mean and angry when she came home.  I told her the boys would be in class on Friday, and she said she hated the boys, though she'd never met them.  She told me that she almost fell asleep at her desk on Thursday.  That had me a little worried, but also realized that it may not be entirely true.  I felt bad for her, but thankfully Friday was a better day.  When she came home on Friday afternoon, she willingly laid down and napped for 2+ hours.  I knew she was tired, and we tried to be so patient with her as she adapted to her new normal.

By the end of the week, she was overjoyed to find her buddies on the playground.  She said she saw Ellie and Sam from her Ansonia preschool, and she kept saying that she had to "fight through the playground" to find Karly.  Every time she talked about the playground, she'd say she had to "fight through" to find friends.  I would have loved to see it!

On Friday, when the boys came, she was excited to see Ryan and Max.  Max's mom sent me this picture, and I'm also so glad to have it.  Even though they may not be the best of friends forever, I know that they'll always be buddies, thanks to the awesome years together at Patty's.

Ryan, Vera, Karly, Max
Notice everyone has a sweatshirt but Vera.  I am already a terrible mom for sending her to school without a jacket.  It was a chilly morning, and as I was driving from Patty's house, I saw plenty of school kids walking.  They were all wearing sweatshirts, and I started to feel guilty for not sending Vera with one.

The first week wasn't the easiest, but the second week went better.  Vera started to learn some names of classmates, and feel more comfortable with the routine at school.  She packed her lunch for the first time, and I completely forgot to pack a drink.  Another mom fail.  But, Vera was bright enough to realize that she could buy a milk in the cafeteria, and did so without missing a beat.  Preschool really has paid off in more ways than one.

We're starting to settle in to more of a routine, and I know as time goes by, she will do great.  I love hearing her talk about school.  Her perspective and innocence is heartwarming.  Have a great school year, Vera Louise.  We love you always!