Two years ago Avandra started preschool. She was so excited to start school and with her academic mind, I knew she was coming into her own. We arrived at school the first day with some time to spare. Enough time for her to look around at all the children she didn't know, all standing in line waiting for the door to open. Enough time for her to allow all the inner fears of the unknown to come out. So when the teacher opened the door and all the other children went through, my daughter freaked out. She grabbed me and wouldn't let go. I tried to encourage her to go in, but she would not. Then the preschool teacher physically grabbed Avandra and started pulling her into the classroom. Avandra responded by wedging her body into the door frame with her arms and legs, crying out, "Mom! No!"
I was completely floored by the teacher's response, but knowing that chewing out the teacher right then wasn't going to help Avandra, I just put on this fake cheery smile and said, "Goodbye Avandra! Have a fun time! I love you!" And then I went around the corner and burst into tears. Needless to say, it was one of the most horrific moments of motherhood I have experienced.
Between that first experience with the teacher, and some subsequent ones, I requested that Couscous get a different teacher for her turn this year. Everything was going as planned until...a million new kids moved into the school district and they had to rearrange everything. When Couscous ended up in that same class I wasn't excited, but I figured things would be better. For starters, I was pretty confident that the teacher would remember our post-traumatic discussion following that first day of school for Avandra. I was sure I could count on the teacher not repeating that opening performance. But Couscous? She's more of a mama's girl than Avandra ever was. She's just the sort to become a cling-on at the exact wrong moment.
Nervous as ever, I took her to the school that first day. I timed it perfectly--just in time to watch the kids go into the classroom. No time to wait and worry. I gave my Couscous a goodbye hug...and she didn't let go. She grabbed me so tight. I wasn't sure what to say so I didn't say anything, I just held onto her too. The teacher assistant came over and said, "It's time to go inside." Couscous just kept holding onto me...and then finally said, "Goodbye Mom. See you later," and walked into the classroom. Hooray! Victory!! I guess she just needed the time to pull out her confidence from the safety of our embrace, and then she made the decision to be brave. I'm so proud of her!!
So here's a picture of her on her first day with some buddies:
As for Avandra, she hopped onto the bus taking her to 2nd grade without any hesitation. When I told her teacher that she loved to read to the point of neglecting everything else, she said, "What a teacher's dream!" I had my doubts about that, which have been justified by Avandra already having been reprimanded--for reading while the teacher is talking, for reading while the other children are at their lockers, for reading during math review. [She even skipped class in 1st grade once. She told the teacher that she had to go to the bathroom and took her book into the hall and read. ] I hope she never tries anything really dangerous because I am sure she's prone to addiction.
I was completely floored by the teacher's response, but knowing that chewing out the teacher right then wasn't going to help Avandra, I just put on this fake cheery smile and said, "Goodbye Avandra! Have a fun time! I love you!" And then I went around the corner and burst into tears. Needless to say, it was one of the most horrific moments of motherhood I have experienced.
Between that first experience with the teacher, and some subsequent ones, I requested that Couscous get a different teacher for her turn this year. Everything was going as planned until...a million new kids moved into the school district and they had to rearrange everything. When Couscous ended up in that same class I wasn't excited, but I figured things would be better. For starters, I was pretty confident that the teacher would remember our post-traumatic discussion following that first day of school for Avandra. I was sure I could count on the teacher not repeating that opening performance. But Couscous? She's more of a mama's girl than Avandra ever was. She's just the sort to become a cling-on at the exact wrong moment.
Nervous as ever, I took her to the school that first day. I timed it perfectly--just in time to watch the kids go into the classroom. No time to wait and worry. I gave my Couscous a goodbye hug...and she didn't let go. She grabbed me so tight. I wasn't sure what to say so I didn't say anything, I just held onto her too. The teacher assistant came over and said, "It's time to go inside." Couscous just kept holding onto me...and then finally said, "Goodbye Mom. See you later," and walked into the classroom. Hooray! Victory!! I guess she just needed the time to pull out her confidence from the safety of our embrace, and then she made the decision to be brave. I'm so proud of her!!
So here's a picture of her on her first day with some buddies:
As for Avandra, she hopped onto the bus taking her to 2nd grade without any hesitation. When I told her teacher that she loved to read to the point of neglecting everything else, she said, "What a teacher's dream!" I had my doubts about that, which have been justified by Avandra already having been reprimanded--for reading while the teacher is talking, for reading while the other children are at their lockers, for reading during math review. [She even skipped class in 1st grade once. She told the teacher that she had to go to the bathroom and took her book into the hall and read. ] I hope she never tries anything really dangerous because I am sure she's prone to addiction.
2 comments:
So glad your daughter went into preschool on her own! Yay! I hope the teacher will turn out to work well for her. I love how Avandra loves books. I have a son similarly obsessed, and it is a real blessing (most of the time anyway...I get tired of the "one more page" request). Your daughters remind me so much of you...beautfiul smiles both of them.
Hooray for back to school! What do you and the little guy do when the ladies are at school?
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