Not Afraid of School

Does this look like a girl who's afraid to go to school?

Since the second day of kindergarten, Janae has had a difficult time with school.  When she is at home in the evening, she sings the songs she has learned, talks excitedly about her activities in the classroom, and shows us work she has completed.  She has nothing but good to say about her day at school and has even come home saying she's had "the BEST DAY EVER." 

The mornings have been different.  We get out Janae's school clothes, and she starts to cry, argue, and refuse to go.  One painful step at a time, we get her ready and drive her to school--while she tells us how much she hates school, her teacher, and all the kids.  Janae then clings to me (or Jason--we tried that!), cries, and finally either gets peeled off by her teacher or walks into the classroom with the saddest, most heart-breaking look on her scared little face.  Her teacher has--kindly--been calling me during the lunch hour to let me know that Janae has recovered quickly and been participating happily in class.

A few days ago, though, I agreed to meet Janae at the school at lunch.  Janae had asked before, but I'd been reluctant to try this (and Janae's teacher had discouraged it), thinking it would mean two tearful goodbyes in a day instead of one.  I had been told daily that Janae did well as soon as I had left, and I didn't want Janae to have a set-back halfway through the day.  But then I thought maybe the day was just too long for Janae (we are not fans of all-day kindergarten!) and that a visit during lunch might help.

It did.  When I told Janae I would come at noon, she went into her class quite happily.  When I saw her on the playground, she was laughing and playing with friends.  When the bell rang, Janae ran to line up with her class.  She asked for one more hug (which I was happy to give!), then waved goodbye and went inside with the group.

This worked well for two days, and other moms were complimenting us on what was obvious progress.

Then last night we went up to the school for a meet-the-teacher barbecue . . . and I wondered what had happened to that little girl who was afraid of school.

In addition to the scene pictured above (Janae has always been pretty fearless on all the playground equipment), we witnessed our daughter making up new games outside with girls and boys from both kindergarten classes, running into her classroom to show us everything there, and even sitting in her teacher's chair and announcing, "I'm Mrs. P!!"

I started to wonder if it was possible for a girl to be a little too comfortable at school.

This morning Janae went to school without any problem at all, even knowing that we wouldn't be joining her for lunch (they are having a special event at the school later in the day that we are planning to attend).

We have often thought our middle child had somewhat of a dual nature--but this "night and day" experience has been dramatic even for her . . . and a little bit much for me to keep up with emotionally.

But hopefully this will be the beginning of better mornings for all of us and happier times for Janae when it comes to school.

Now we just have to find a way to get Alaina not to be afraid of climbing down this tree outside the kindergarten door . . . with all the time we have spent at the school lately she is certainly not afraid of climbing up it--but I have to admit that I am still a little scared when I climb up to get her down :)