Hola, Kindergarten

We are now a few weeks into Kindergarten and getting our feet under us. It hasn’t been all rainbows and unicorns but I think we have weathered the transition pretty well. I worried about him going to a whole new environment…like more than I usually worry. I am a pretty confident person and even I get nervous in those situations.

The “Worries”

If you followed me on social media, you saw our issues with drop off anxiety. This was the only negative thing we heard about school. The first week I could walk him to his class. Then on that Friday, we got a message saying starting Monday, we couldn’t anymore. I totally understand why…I guess just a little more warning would have been nice. When I told Landon this Monday in the car pool line, he freaked out. So much so that I dropped him in the line and he cowered on the sidewalk. I hurried, parked and ran back to walk him in the door. I can walk him to his hall but he had to walk to the class alone. Phew…not good. I finally got the counselor to walk him and he just looked like a deer in the headlights. That week? It was awful. Every day he would start worrying about it the minute we got in the car. The more I tried to talk about it, the worse it got. So I ignored it. I got teachers to take him. It was rough. I polled Facebook and got a variety of ideas. He is a goal oriented kid…incentives are the name of the game. So my neighbor said she gave her daughter a piece of candy to hold. She was allowed to eat it once she got to the classroom (she is also in the same class. “Oh Lilah has candy too! You should ask her what kind!). So before school we stopped at the gas station and I bought a pack of skittles. I put 4 little skittles in his hand and he giggle-sprinted down the hall. WELP! It is still not perfect but I am slowly going to work my way out of the school at drop off. Baby steps.

But this has shown us a good bit of anxiety in him in general. It is a work in progress. I am reading books on how to help him cope without making it worse. Luckily it doesn’t seem to be about school academically but more just the social transition. Honestly hard to tell because he has a hard time explaining what he is worried about it. We are externalizing the anxiety to “worries” and I am going to work at teaching him how to “fight the worries” and learn to relax. Laura recommended this book and it is already helping me look at it differently.

The Spanish

The Spanish immersion is going REALLY well. This was my main worry…that he would get in there and just be overwhelmed but I really don’t see it. He is starting to get excited when he knows new words and whispers them to me when I get home. It’s so cute. I catch him singing the songs a lot and he even asks if we can read and watch things in Spanish. These first months it is a lot of gesturing and songs. His teacher has her masters in Dramatic Education so she uses song, dance and role play to convey concepts.

Different than standard kindergarten, they don’t learn the alphabet in order. They start with vowels because those are the harder things to understand since Spanish is so phonetic. They also don’t do like the “Letter land” that is the curriculum here in Wake county because…well they have a different alphabet.

His homework it pretty simple at this point. He alternates each day between language arts and math. The language arts is writing the words he sees and associating with the image. Also working on rhyming. The math is pretty standard counting of objects and such. He smokes the math in seconds every day. It’s not even a challenge. Lulz.

The New Routine

As for the routine, I prepared myself for much worse but I have to say I am loving our new little groove. I think in the grand scheme, this allowed us to give him the extra attention he needed. We have made the decision to drop off and pick up every day. Thankfully we work at a great place* that allows us the flexibility. I am working from home in the morning before school and doing drop off and Kevin goes in earlier with Ollie and leaves earlier to pick him up.  This allows us to actually spend MORE time with Landon that we were with him in daycare.  Kevin gets homework done, washes the lunch box stuff and starts dinner. THAT’S RIGHT!!!! I HAVE A HOUSE HUSBAND!!!! It’s the bee’s knees. I am planning the week’s meals on a board in the kitchen and buying the groceries. He makes it. BOOM. Ollie and I get home around 5:30 and dinner is usually ready or almost done. It’s the best. He gets to have some quiet time without boys fighting and can cook and I DON’T HAVE TO DO ALL THE FOOD THINGS!!!! I make Landon’s lunch at night and whamo.

I’m sure there is plenty to come but right now we are grinding along in our new lives and doing pretty well. Muy Bein!

3 thoughts on “Hola, Kindergarten

  • September 30, 2014 at 9:48 am
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    I am already nervous about drop-off separation anxiety with CJ (Leila, she’s going to wave bye & that’ll be it). That whole week just sounds like a brutal experience.

    And you have Taco Tuesday scheduled!

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  • September 30, 2014 at 2:20 pm
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    Glad he is adjusting! It’s tough at that age to explain how they feel. We’re in a good groove over here too (although who knows what will happen once baby arrives!) and also do the weekly meal plan. I pick-up D from after school so whoever is home first starts dinner. Sometimes it’s still me, but goodness it is nice those nights when we stroll in at 6pm and find it’s already on the stove.

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  • September 30, 2014 at 5:54 pm
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    So glad to read this! Especially after that awful week of drop-off. I have a feeling he’ll continue to surprise you. Kindergarten had that effect on Lily, and she came out a much more confident kid on the flip side. Although the anxiety seems to be creeping back in with the onset of first grade and “bigger” homework. Thanks for the book link!

    Keep enjoying your new routine — it sounds perfect. I want a house husband!!

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