4 Weeks into School....

We have been doing this school thing for almost 4 weeks now and we are starting to get in the groove with the schedule. The things I dreaded about Emma starting school have been blessings (mostly) which is ironic. I love hearing Emma's take on school, new friends, her teacher, etc....I am completely in AWE of how much Emma has learned in just a few short weeks. Things (like days of the week and months) that I tried to teach her at home and I know they went over in preschool have clicked. How you might ask? Well, I'm convinced that Kindergarten is a musical. Seriously. I think everything they learn is put to song and it clicks for them. Here is a list of the funny things and blessings of kindergarten. This is going to be a long post, but I wanted to make sure that I documented these things for myself and the girls.

1. I dreaded, most of all, having to get up every morning and get E ready for school. It has been the biggest blessing. I still don't love when my alarm goes off, but I have loved getting up 30 minutes before everyone to read and spend time with the Lord. I love B getting up earlier in the morning, laying down earlier for a nap and thus going to bed peacefully at bedtime without much of a fight. What a change! A blessing.

2. Really not funny at all. Really. Emma came home on Friday telling us that her class (mainly 2 specific boys) had made their student teacher cry. Bless her heart. I have no idea what happened, but I felt so sad for her. Then for some unknown reason, it became very funny, but I hid my laughter from Emma. We love Mrs. Gardner and I actually feel like I click more with her than I do E's actual teacher.

3. Emma also told us on Friday night at dinner that a boy and girl in her class kissed on the lips at P.E. SERIOUSLY??? (A wiser, older Mom had once told me that her biggest rule for herself was not to react to anything her children say. She was to remain calm and cool as if it was no big deal. Not that she didn't talk to them about it, but she did not react. She always wanted her children to confide in her and she knew that if she reacted they would stop talking.) As soon as E said this, I thought, I must not react. I tried to stay calm, but asked a million questions. Apparently Emma and her little friend told on them. We are working with Emma on not tattle-telling, but honestly, I'm glad she told on these kiddos. Seriously, in kindergarten???? We went over again not to kiss until she was 30. :)

4. We love carpooling with our best friends!! Allyn and I have been best friends since first grade and now have the chance for our kids to go to school together and carpool. We take turns picking up after school and it is so fun! Every now and then, we get fun after school treats.








5. Eating lunch with Emma at school is really fun. I have been able to eat up there with her a couple of times. My Dad (Papa) came one day with Brooklyn and me up there. Today, was Grandparents Day and John's parents (GDad and Nana) plus John's Grandma (Granny Dill) ate lunch with Emma. They strongly encourage family to eat up at the school and it is fun to be there and get to talk to her friends and meet some of the teachers.










6. The funniest thing that has happened so far was also one of the more sad days for me. Last Thursday, Emma broke down and decided that she DID NOT want to go to school. John was out of town, so I took her to school. She was nearly in tears the whole way there. We prayed for her day and I tried to encourage her. When asked why she didn't want to go she said, "I have to work to hard." Another time she told me, "I want to stay home with you." I assured her it was almost the weekend and we would have plenty of time together. Once to the drop off line, she would not get out. Was not going to budge, so I went to park. I got her out of the car, but she wouldn't go in. Two sweet friends came over to try to walk with her, but she told them, "I am NOT going to school today!" I walked her in, hugged her, kissed her and handed her over to her teacher. I walked so fast out of the school. I was dying to get to my car so I could let my tears go. I prayed for her the whole way home and then emailed her teacher in hopes that she might reply before the end of the day. This was my email to her:

Ms. Norris,
I'm sorry to bother you and sorry about having to leave Emma with you crying this morning. It started last night with her not wanting to go to school. We were gone all last weekend and I think that is the problem. She didn't get her time at our house + my husband being gone this week. I just wanted to make sure that she recovered fairly quickly and was okay for you the rest of the day.
Thanks for all you do!
Allison Nelson

I went to work over at my sister in laws house and told her all about it, tearing up a bit while explaining. About an hour later, I got a reply to my email and again started crying because I was laughing so hard! I will preface the email by telling you that Emma had already told her teacher on Tuesday (when John left town) that her Daddy would be gone for 2 weeks. Her teacher asked me about it and I told her it was only for 2 days. This is her email back to me:

Mrs. Nelson,

Yes. She did recover quickly. However, knowing she was worried about dad being "on the airplane for two weeks" (smile!) I asked Mrs. Brown, our counselor, to visit with her. Mrs. Brown reported that they bonded, and Emma is excited to go at 2:30 to Mrs. Brown's treasure box. Thanks for checking on her.

Ms. Norris

My little kindergartner went to talk to the school counselor. HA! I love it! Emma had already met Mrs. Brown once before and talked about how nice she was and what a neat office she had, so I knew that she probably thought it was such a treat to get to go hang out with her for a bit. I really was so glad that they were sensitive to her feelings and let her talk about what was going on and her sudden feelings of not wanting to go to school. John got back that night and she was completely fine on Friday morning.
I should note that I emailed with Mrs. Brown and thanked her for chatting with E. I told her I thought she was just sad about John being gone. She emailed back and said, "That is funny because she never mentioned anything about her Dad being gone. All she said was that she missed her Mommy." Kids! You never know what they are thinking.

7. Weekends are really weekends. I have always loved weekends because John is home and we can all be together and do fun stuff. It has also always been a time that I can run a few errands without the girls. I can't explain how it is different now, but Fridays are truly TGIF for me and the weekend is treasured for a different reason. I get my whole family for the weekend. I could honestly care less if I'm by myself for one second. I have been soaking up my time with John, Emma and Brooklyn. Friday night is officially family movie night and this last Friday, John built an awesome tent for the girls.








8. I have loved my one of one time with Brooklyn. I have never been alone with Brooklyn for a consistent amount of time. I did not know what we would do with just each other at home. We have had a lot of fun running errands, eating special lunches, playing Barbies, learning letters and numbers, crafting, etc....She is talking up a storm and soaking everything in.

I am not going to lie and say that the past 4 weeks have been easy. They have not, but they have been good. It has been a good change in our routine. I also won't lie and say that I don't still miss Emma during the day. It is still weird for me to be at home while B naps and not have E nearby. It is still weird for me to watch her walk through those big school doors in the morning. It has been super hard to learn to "really" hand my child over to the Lord. I never knew what that meant until 4 weeks ago and it took me a while to realize that I was struggling with that very thing. I have had to learn (and I'm still doing it) to release a bit of control and trust God to carry her and to guide her decisions. Not that I am no longer her Mom, but that I can't be there every minute. God can. This is the one thing I have to pray for myself every morning. I have a feeling I will pray this for the rest of my life.