Back to School

I feel so behind the rest of the blogosphere with my boys heading off to school this morning, a few weeks behind some! (but remember, my kiddos didn’t get out until June 26th!) Anyway, with all I’ve posted about five year old Sweet Pea’s separation anxiety, I thought I’d share how he did going off for the first time on a bus and to school.

I think, considering his seemingly severe seperation anxiety last year lasting until the very last day of preschool, that he did pretty well. He really only hesitated for a minute before heading off on the bus! We had mentioned it here and there in a very positive, but reassuring way over the past two weeks. Cutie Pie joined in saying how much fun Kindergarten is and sharing stories. We didn’t push him too much, just reaffirmed his feelings when he expressed doubt and moved on to something more positive.

One of the things this school district does is open classrooms for an hour once before school starts. This allows the students to bring in all the back to school items like tissue boxes, folders, low-odor (really?) dry erase markers and almost all the other things necessary for a classroom to run smoothly so they don’t have a heavy backpack the first day of school. (Of course, we all know it takes a LOT more than what the students contribute.)

This also allows students to meet their teachers. In our district there are several classrooms for each grade, so some might also be meeting other students in their class for the first time. We all know the anxiety of ‘will any of my friends be in my class?’ That comes with any age.

Kindergarteners especially benefit from this open-house time. Sweet Pea was able to go into the classroom for the first time with us to meet his teacher, find his seat, and explore his new classroom. I think this relieved his anxiety quite a bit, although it didn’t disappear totally!

Another thing our district does is have a bus night for all incoming Kindergarteners. We were able to go with Cutie Pie when he entered Kindergarten and it was great! He learned how to behave on a bus, how to cross in front of one and all the rules and laws concerning bus safety. Having a very fun first bus experience really made a difference that first day when he got on.

Unfortunately, Sweet Pea was out of action for the bus orientation this year, having received his concussion the night before. Looking up those bus steps at a stranger (the bus driver) was very intimidating this morning! For a moment I thought he might not go, but then the driver asked ‘Are you…?’ using his name, he hesitated, then climbed the steps. It might have been easier had he been through the orientation, but her knowing his name and her patience definitely helped. (Our Kindergarten neighbor, on the other hand, ran the other way crying!)

Now, we’ll see what all he has to say about this when he comes home. I’m hoping fresh-backed oatmeal chocolate chip cookies will entice him to talk about his day!