We Survived Our First Week of Kindergarten and Lived to Write About It

My kiddo made it through his first week of Kindergarten and all I can say is ... so far so good.

The schedule is rough on both of us though. The school is locked except for a few times of day and I can only drop him off or pick him up at these mandated times: 7:00 am, 8:10 am, 2:15 pm, 4:15 pm and 5:30 pm. (We live in a really nice neighborhood but Sandy Hook was in a really nice neighborhood too. 'nuff said).

Since I need an hour to get to and from work (thanks to the god-awful public transportation system in metro Boston whose on time rate is somewhere in the single digits), I have to drop Christopher off at 7am and can't pick him up until 5:30. That's a long day. But what's this single mom supposed to do? I have to work.

By Friday, my kid was literally falling asleep in class. And when Christopher is really tired, he has more trouble managing his behaviors so his impulsivity comes out, which is never a good thing. I opened his backpack on Friday night to see a note from his teacher saying that he punched Nicholas in the head while the kids were lining up for dismissal. Yeesh. Thankfully, this was an isolated incident after an entire week at school so I'm not panicking...yet.

Christopher's always been an afternoon napper so it's going to be an adjustment to go for a whole day without that added sleep. He's very used to our go to bed routine of 9pm but I started putting him to bed 15 minutes earlier incrementally so he can get the extra sleep he needs overnight. So far it's actually working and he's been asleep every night since Friday 30 minutes earlier than usual. Hopefully this helps.

Christopher is doing great in school though. He actually loves it, which is a huge relief to this momma. After three days he was already coming home with small books that he needs to read to me. My kid has started reading after three days of Kindergarten and he loves it!!

Plus in the before-school program he is running around, playing dodge ball with the other kids, so he gets all that little boy hyperactive energy out of his system before he has to sit down and be still for learning. It actually works out really well for him and honestly, I might keep him in the before-school program even when I don't need to as it's a great energy release for him.

All in all, I'm impressed with the Forestdale School and with Christopher's Kindergarten teacher and program. I do wish I had more flexibility with pick up and drop off but after Newtown I get it. Safety is so important. Let's hope the rest of the year goes equally well.