4th day....She handled it just like a pro

Emily's been agreeing all weekend that she'd walk in school by herself today.  She even seemed excited about it.  I felt pretty confident that she would but she also promised to do her school work and eat her lunch in kindergarten too and so far she hasn't.  My baby girl got out of the car, grabbed her backpack and lunch box, smiled but never stopped for a picture and walked right in those school doors like the brave little girl she is.  I am so proud of her.  That's a huge step for her and nothing she's ever even had to try to do in kindergarten.  I'm so happy for her.  She's going to do well I just know it.  Ms. Kelly called and asked if I'd be willing to come in one day this week.  Not to help with Emily, she'd doing great, but to tear out papers she said.  I'm looking forward to it.  I think I'll have have breakfast with her in the cafeteria and then walk her to the gym and get to work.  :)

Days 2 and 3

Emily had a great 2nd day and 3rd day of school.  She loves gym and carpet time.  I got a call from the speech teacher and explained Emily's behavior.  She won't speak, eat, or do her classwork.  I've taken her to two different specialist and they both said she has an anxiety disorder.  Ms.  Kristi, the lady that takes their pictures, suggested she might have something called Selective Mutism, which is basically an anxiety disorder that makes her so scared that she's not able to do some of the things her friends do.  I think she's right.  Today I dropped off an article to Ms. Michaels, her teacher and she promised to read it tonight.  She's such a nice lady.  Ms. Kelly, Ms. Michaels teachers aide that helps in Emily's class, said her little boy acts the exact same way at school.  I think Ms. Kelly knows just what to do to help Emily.  None of this is stopping Emily from enjoying kindergarten.  She loves running into her friends from preschool that are in the next class.  (Addy, Caesar, Luke, and Christian) and she's starting to make friends in kindergarten already.  She loves gym and her favorite thing to do is run.  Today the playground was finally dry enough to play.  She said she went down the slides and chased Abby, a girl in her class.  She said at lunch she sees Matiah, a girl in first grade that she friended this summer that came to her preschool this summer.  I think she's going to have a good year. 


Anthony joined the school band and his trumpet came in.  He's had it two days and already I can see improvement in his playing.   He's loving it and he's sisters seem to enjoy him playing.  Tonight was his first cub scout meeting of the school year.  Meetings are no longer at the church for the boys.  Now they'll be at Ms. Tamara, the den leaders house.  I miss going to the meetings with Anthony and Emily does too.  But he's older now so he gets dropped off. He said he had fun.  He got to play with all the dogs and learned about how to help save someone from drowning.  There's a fundraiser going around the internet called the Ice Bucket challenge.  Someone challenges 3 people to pour a bucket of ice water over their head or donate money to a charity to support a disease called ALS, also known as Lou Gerigs disease.  His principle, Mrs. Oakes agreed to do the ice bucket challenge if the students brought in money to donate.  The 5th grade raised the most money so all the teachers in his grade agreed to do the bucket challenge.  I'm so proud of Anthony.  He donated $5 of his own money from his piggy bank.  He said he got the first wet hug from his Mrs. Wolfenbarger, his teacher. And based on the look on his face, I think he enjoyed it.

DAY 2

 

DAY3

 

 

Girls love musicians

Anthony joined the school band.  His trumpet came in today.  The girls like it.

Kindergarten here she comes!

That's Lily with her mother

Madison.  Emily met her orientation night.

Ms. Kelly, Ms. Michaels helper, waked the kids to class.  I told Emily to follow Madison and I would be right behind her.  A few times she turned to smile at me, but I never caught her smile on camera.

 Emily went back-and-forth between being nervous and excited this morning getting ready for kindergarten. She calmed down when we got to school. She met a new friend named Lily while waiting in the gym for class to start and she got to see Madison again.  Emily was doing great and coloring a picture at her table but she got a little nervous when Lily started crying.  Emily looked at me and asked if I had to go. I said yes and kissed her goodbye.  She never tried to follow me when I left but I could tell the tears were close.  Daddy and Aubrey and I went to go pick Emily up from school.  We could see Emily sitting on the sidewalk with her friends smiling at us. Mommy started to cry a little bit. I can't believe our little girl is growing up.  Emily said she loves kindergarten.  She wouldn't tell us very much about her day. But she said her favorite part of kindergarten was carpet time, and she loves gym.  Then she mentioned something about a magic hula hoop.  She didn't eat her lunch and she said she didn't do her work.  But she said she can't wait to go back tomorrow.  She earned a smiley face today for behavior and if she earns nine more she gets to pick a prize out of the treasure box at school.  She told me later that she didn't cry.

The night before kindergarten