Isabelle's First and Last Day of School

Isabelle has been doing great as a big sister. She doesn't get overly jealous {although she has moments here and there}, she loves to help out in taking care of him, and enjoys "playing" with him but we decided she needed something that was just about her. So, we decided preschool might be something she would enjoy. We looked into schools a couple weeks ago, and Tuesday was the big start day! Isabelle was beyond excited. She had her bag all packed up the night before, her clothes picked out, and even colored a picture for her teacher.

Brushing her own teeth

Every 5 minutes I had to hear, mom is it time yet, mom can we go, mom were going to be late. Finally, 9 oclock rolled around and we were set to head out...

Yay, I'm going to school!

She wanted a few pics with baby bro before she left of course...

Jude, checking out big sis

Helping out

Time to go...

When we got to the school, Isabelle marched in like she owned the place. The teacher walked her over to the kids where they were having circle time. This is where things start to go downhill. She had it in her mind that she was going to be able to play with the kids as soon as she got there. She wanted nothing to do with sitting in a circle and listening to what was going on. She started to cry and came running back over to me. I had prepared myself for this. I knew she might cry, don't all kids cry the first day? I reassured her that she would be able to play with the kids but that she had to wait until it was time. She begged me to let her leave. This is what I was dreading. The nice teacher took her by the hand, told her to tell mom bye, and offered to show her around the school while the other kids did circle time. 


I was able to keep my composure long enough to make it to the privacy of my car before I started balling like a baby. I gave myself a few minutes to feel sorry for myself then dried my eyes and headed home. The teacher told me I could call to check on her and make sure she had calmed down. I watched the clock like a hawk trying to decide how much time was enough time to not look like one of those "crazy moms". I gave it about a half an hour and then called. The teacher informed me that she was not AS upset as when I had left but that she told her, " Call my mom and tell her to get in her car, drive real fast, pull in this driveway and pick me up" but that she would be fine and I shouldn't worry!! Thanks a lot lady! Why did she have to tell me that. So, I spent another 5 minutes crying before telling myself that she would be fine. I have worked in my mother in laws daycare enough to know this, but when its YOUR child, its a different story.


I was a nervous wreck all day. I thought sending her to school would give me a chance to relax a little but that was the last thing on my mind. I cleaned the kitchen, looked at the clock, cleaned the bathrooms, looked at the clock, did some pinterest projects, took care of Jude, did some laundry, made lunch, and organized my junk drawers, all while keeping an eagle eye on the clock and fighting the urge to call again. Finally, 3 o'clock rolled around and I was out the door faster than Danika Patrick in the Indy 500.


I was relieved to find her sitting at the snack table, enjoying her snack, well, and in one piece. She spotted us an immediately jumped up, grabbed her bag, and was ready to jet out of there. We got to the car and then I started in on the 100 questions.


Did you have fun? Yeah, but I cried.
Did you read any stories? No
Did you sing and songs? No
Did you get to color any pictures or work on letters? No
Well, what did you do? We ate a lot, had to nap a long time, and they didnt have any toys I like to play with so I played with the kitchen.


After more questions and similar responses, I asked her if she wanted to go back and she said Yes. Ok, this is good. Tomorrow will be better I told myself. She didn't mention it much the rest of the afternoon until it was bed time. We brushed her teeth, picked out clothes for the next day and packed her bag up. We tucked her in and left her room thinking all was well.


About 30 minutes later she flies out of her room. "I dont WANT to go to that school!!" She grabbed her clothes she had layed out and put them back in her dresser, took everything out of her bag, and then climbed up in my lap and said, " Please mommy, dont make me go back to that school" :(


Ugh, heartbreak..I asked her why she didn't want to go when earlier she had said she liked it and wanted to go back. She told me that it is too loud, there is too much snack time, there are no toys she likes, and she already knows EVERYTHING and doesn't NEED to go to school. I understood where she was coming from. 3 1/2 hours of the 6 hours she was there were spent eating or sleeping. They have one large room that is separated into different age areas by half walls so the noise level is pretty insane (she has always had sensitive hearing and being home her whole life isn't used to that kind of noise). I told her not to think about it tonight, that we would talk about it again in the morning but that if she really, really didn't want to go, I would not make her. I chalked it up to her being tired and assumed that by the time morning rolled around she would change her mind.


I was wrong. She was very adamant that she DID NOT want to go. I talked to her and tried to explain that she should give it another chance...No, please don't make me go...I will take you to the toy store after if you give it another chance..No, please, please don't make me go.


Now, I understand that there will come a time when she HAS to go to school. That she will not be able to make the choice to go or not go. That being said, I do not work. I am a stay at home mother and I feel like forcing her to go somewhere all day when she doesn't like it is wrong. We work on all kinds of learning activities at home and she is super smart. I know I am her mom and all but she is smarter than most four year olds I have known. We just wanted her to be able to spend time with other kids and have something special for her. So, we will try school again when she is ready but until then she has informed us that she wants to be on a soccer team so we will give that a whirl!