School has already been "interesting" and we're only 5 days in.

I must say, I've felt so anxious about school this year.

1. The babies are growing up so fast. Look at these big kids!

 

2. Connor's issues with the teacher from last year
3. The fact that everybody keeps asking me "so where are you sending the kids next year" and I want to say "I'm going to unschool" just to keep people from going further with the topic that most annoys me, other than politics!



We had it in our head that if they did not put Connor in one particular class, we would pull them out of school but that morning as I was dressing and praying, I felt God say to me, "don't you trust me?" and do you know what, I didn't!

!

Barely two weeks out of 2013 and I was not trusting.
 

So we took them to school, they met their teachers and sure enough, Connor is with the stricter teacher of the two and Kendra has the fun, silly one.

But I felt okay with it and three hours later we went on holiday!

 

On Monday they went back... no problems. Tuesday Connor said nothing but Wed morning he was thrashing around on the floor not wanting to go to school.

This is technically the 4th day of the year so it is a problem. I had the day off from work to do errands (more on that on the organising blog next week because I was a machine!) so I asked him if he'd like me to take him to school later after he calmed down. D was not helping saying "come, I have to get to work, etc." (as we all do) so off went K with D, and C waited for me to get dressed to take him.

 

While we drove (all of 2 minutes, maybe 3 because there's traffic at that hour :0 :)), I asked him if he wants me to talk to the teacher and he said yes.

C Teacher J makes us write on 20 pages. (he says write for anything to do with paper - colour, write, draw)

Me I don't think so, I'm sure it's only one or two pages.

C No, Mummy, it's 20.

So we went and I had a chat with her. I decided to try a new approach this year - that of making the teacher my co-conspirator.

"This is what's happening. What are WE going to do about this?"



This is the part that freaks me out. D is also very cross.

She said she was expecting a difficult child based on what his teacher from last year told her but instead he has been a gem. Participates fully during class - asks and answers questions, sings along, does all his stuff nicely and the ONLY thing is he HATES anything creative. They have to do one thing a day - yesterday, cut out granny's head and C's head, paste on paper, draw bodies on both people and colour it all in.

This is a bit strange to me - he likes cutting and pasting, but I agree he has never liked colouring. (I also don't like colouring - I could never see the point. The figure is there already, what's the point of the colouring? :) Now what I did love was join the dots!)

I told her that, and she said it's probably because at school she's telling them what to do and at home with me, I let him do anything he wants with all the stuff. True.

(he doesn't like people to boss him around like one of his parents)

When I fetched them after school (I LOVE dropping and fetching them - LOVE LOVE LOVE it), I told Connor that we agreed he only had to do ONE page. He wasn't convinced and still had a moan.

 

Well, this morning we had Drama.

D had to force him to stay still in his car seat while he wailed and cried "I don't want to go to school".

D emailed me LATE (he'd only got in then) to say Connor had to be pried off of him.

 

I phoned the school later and apparently he eventually calmed down (this age is so difficult - they don't stop crying in 2 secs like when they were 2 - they have serious determination... and can keep going forever) and was a star.

I think we crushed his spirit and he was flat.

He told me this afternoon that his tummy hurts when he thinks of school.

Isn't that what anxiety in kids looks like? I think that's beautifully articulated.

Kendra of course is 100% fine!

I'm dreading tomorrow morning.

I know he's still in a period of adjustment (today was day 5) but how long can I let my boy go to school with a sore tummy?!

Have you experienced anything similar? What worked for you?

Do you have any bright ideas?

PS isn't the light fabulous in this set of photos? I LOVE LOVE LOVE them.