As if He's Doin' Time

It's been a trying week for the lad, although he has shown improvement. No stress puking -- at home or at school -- by Tuesday. But still tears when it's time for him to go into the classroom. At the principal's suggestion, we met with the school psychologist on Monday because of his over-the-top stressing. It was her first day at the school. [Although I'm sure she's 100% capable, she looks as if she's 14. But that's probably because I am now 50. Or saying I am. In her eyes, I probably look like the kid's grandmother.]

She wrote what she called a "social story" for him. He added some particulars and he picked out the pictures to be included. We read it several times a day, especially just before he goes into class. I thought I'd share it with you.

L Goes to School!

[Photo of the lad, his brother and his sister going for the first day of school.]

My name is L. I am in Mrs. B’s kindergarten class at Elementary. My kindergarten class is really fun! We get to do a lot of awesome activities like recess, lunch, story time, and centers. My favorite part of being in kindergarten so far is on the days my mom comes into the class to help. [Photo of the lad and me on his second day of school.]

Sometimes, when I’m getting ready for school, my tummy feels sort of funny. I may get sick either before school or when I’m waiting to come in the afternoon. Maybe I will get sick when I’m at school. This happens when I know I’m going to be away from my mom and it makes me sad and nervous. [Photo of the lad at the soccer parade, two days after school started.]

It’s okay to be sad to leave my mom, but what makes me happy is that I get to take parts of my mom and dad with me every day. I have a picture of us that I keep in my folder and a very special necklace that I wear so that I can keep them close to me all day long. Any time I miss them, I can look at the picture and feel the necklace. When I do this, it makes me feel like they are at school with me! That makes me feel good inside. [Photo of the lad in front of his cubby at the end of his third day of school.]

My mom drops me off at school every day and when she does that, I give her some hugs and then Mrs. B takes me by the hand and walks me into the room so that I can start my school day. Even though I sometimes get sad to leave my mom, I really like going to school and learning lots of new things. I can play with my new friends, listen to stories, and do the calendar![Photo of the lad at the water park this summer.]

I’m so excited to be a kindergarten student in Mrs. Bondanza’s class! When I leave my mom, I will give her an extra big hug that last’s all afternoon. After school, I can give her another hug and tell her all about the amazing things we did that day! Together, we can have so much fun in kindergarten! [The lad's interpretation of a weather chart. Done a few months ago.]

Me, again. I've no idea if this will work for him or not. He's fine in class, stopping crying (or puking) once he's safely on the rug to start the class. It'll be interesting to see how we muddle through next week following the three-day weekend. If he's not settled by the end of the week, I'm signing him up for the daycare at the school so he can melt down there and get it out of the way before they walk him over to kindergarten. We'll be making that threat this weekend.