Roughly six weeks ago, Avery started Kindergarten. To call this a transition would be a huge understatement... for Mama and for Avery.
For a while, every night was wrought with Kindergartenness. Avery liked school fine, thought her teacher was great, even made friends fast and easily. It wasn't that Kindergarten wasn't a good move for her. It's just that it was ex.haust.ing. We saw it in easy fits, easy tears, and sometimes blank stares at the wall. But little by little, as days turned to weeks, and more weeks, and more weeks... we've seen Avery blossom and grow into a capable, beautiful Kindergarten Girl.
Things about Avery, six weeks in:
*At her 5 year well child check-up, Avery failed her eye sight screen. We followed up with an eye doctor who specializes in children, and as it turns out, Avery's eye sight is almost perfect. She has the slightest astigmatism but the doc recommended that we do nothing about it for at least the next two years. Avery was so disappointed that she wasn't going to get glasses like Fancy Nancy, so we went to Target and bought her some sunglasses. She put them on and immediately cried out, "Mom! I can see so much better with these on!" Ah, the power of suggestion.
*Avery got to be Queen of the Jungle (basically Star of the Week) last week. She made a poster (my favorite 'all about me' moment: her three favorite places on earth were San Antonio, Lockhart, Texas, and Disney World). She also picked out two books to have Mom read to the class. After I talked her down from Barbie Goes to Princess Prep School, we chose The Halloweener and Shark Vs. Train. I had so much fun being back in a classroom and Avery was truly treated like royalty - she even got a book from her classmates in which each child drew a picture of something they'd like to do with her.
*Academically, socially, and behaviorally, Avery is right on track. It's not like we never experience hiccups or have very tired crying fits (or an occasional behavior blip at school), it is just that they seem to be getting fewer and farther between.
*My biggest fears sending Avery off to school were about her ability to make friends and not feel lonely at recess, in lunch, etc. It blesses my heart so to watch her interact with her new peers, to hear about how much she enjoys meeting new people, and to see genuine affection blossom for her new gal pals.
*I'm amazed at how quickly Avery is showing improvement with her fine motor skills. She doesn't love her handwriting homework, but within 3 weeks' time, she has grown to be able to complete the worksheet of handwriting in 15-20 minutes (without tears!) and draw the letters mostly correctly. Fine motor skills were an area that needed improvement all year last year, but this year, the daily practice is really paying off.
*One area where we haven't made headway just yet is lunch time. Avery doesn't seem bothered by it, but we absolutely cannot get her to eat her lunch. I've tried everything, but Big Girl comes home with an almost full lunch box every day. The library aide has even mentioned it to me, so it must be pretty obvious to the lunchroom helpers. I mean, she's not starving, but why would anyone turn down eating lunch?!
*For better of for worse, Avery is a very successful, mostly happy full-time Kindergartener now. One thing our family has found to be an enormous blessing from all of this is the appreciation for time spent together. Our family fun nights are far less extravagant than they used to be (no more long trips out of the house - there's homework to be done and bed times to respect!), but they have become so tender. We'll often just choose to read, or play a board game, or ride bikes in the front yard. But now that Avery is away from us for 8 hours every day, we are given a new appreciation for our time with her and for how quickly the other two will be full-timers as well.
*As you would guess, Jordan and I are in the school at every chance we get. This gets tricky with scheduling and child-care, but we've been so blessed with a willing Nana to keep Reese and Kate, and I have LOVED being an active member of the PTA, volunteering in the library, work room, and class, and just being a part of Avery's schooling in whatever ways I can. Jordan will be at the school all day next week as a participant in the Watch DOGS (Dads of Great Students) program. Rumor has it that Watch DOGS are celebrities at Stanley, and I am certain he'll be a hero in one very excited Kindergartener's eyes.
If I could go back in time 2 months, I'd tell myself: Yes, it will be hard. Yes, it is a bittersweet occasion. Yes, the tears are for good reason. But have faith in that Big Girl. She's resilient. She's smart. She's a natural born leader and she's good at making friends. She's going to rock Kinder and all you have to do is love her, support her, and pray her through. Exactly like every other year of her life... just slightly more intensified.
Reese is three months old today. Still chubby, still happy, still amazing.
