Here's another thing I didn't know happened in kindergarten.
Today was a hard day---I had to take the girls to school with baby Luke, so we were running just barely on time, until as we were driving down the block I realized I had forgotten something at home. Then we got behind a school bus. Then we came to an accident: someone had tried to pull a u-haul trailer across a ditch, and had gotten stuck half-way into the right lane. So we were really late. Then Eleanor started complaining that her tummy hurt.
Well, Eleanor complains that her tummy hurts all the time. We finally figured out that she's lactose intolerant, so that helps quite a bit, but she still has a lot of trouble. Fortunately, it usually passes and is not severe. This time, however, she was saying that she felt like she had to throw up and she looked awful. Well, I hadn't planned on keeping her home, but that was ok. But then she perked up when I said it was my turn to help in her classroom. Hmm, could this be psychological rather than physical?
I realized that the tummy hurting came on when I started telling the girls that we were going to be really late. "Eleanor, are you worried about being late?" Silence. "Eleanor, what happens when you are late?" "I might not get to finish my morning work!" says Eleanor, in an anguished voice. Bingo! I think.
"Eleanor, what do the other kids do when they are late and they can't finish their work?" "They finish their work during rest and read! Or maybe they do it at centers!" (she's definitely perking up at this point.) We talked for a little while longer about the fact that it's not so bad to be late, and by the time she got to school she definitely was feeling better, although she was still worried about being late: she ran from the car to her classroom without her jacket =).
I guess it's a good idea to talk about being late in order to encourage promptness, but a little goes a long way.
Today was a hard day---I had to take the girls to school with baby Luke, so we were running just barely on time, until as we were driving down the block I realized I had forgotten something at home. Then we got behind a school bus. Then we came to an accident: someone had tried to pull a u-haul trailer across a ditch, and had gotten stuck half-way into the right lane. So we were really late. Then Eleanor started complaining that her tummy hurt.
Well, Eleanor complains that her tummy hurts all the time. We finally figured out that she's lactose intolerant, so that helps quite a bit, but she still has a lot of trouble. Fortunately, it usually passes and is not severe. This time, however, she was saying that she felt like she had to throw up and she looked awful. Well, I hadn't planned on keeping her home, but that was ok. But then she perked up when I said it was my turn to help in her classroom. Hmm, could this be psychological rather than physical?
I realized that the tummy hurting came on when I started telling the girls that we were going to be really late. "Eleanor, are you worried about being late?" Silence. "Eleanor, what happens when you are late?" "I might not get to finish my morning work!" says Eleanor, in an anguished voice. Bingo! I think.
"Eleanor, what do the other kids do when they are late and they can't finish their work?" "They finish their work during rest and read! Or maybe they do it at centers!" (she's definitely perking up at this point.) We talked for a little while longer about the fact that it's not so bad to be late, and by the time she got to school she definitely was feeling better, although she was still worried about being late: she ran from the car to her classroom without her jacket =).
I guess it's a good idea to talk about being late in order to encourage promptness, but a little goes a long way.
Comments
Love,
Steph
(blush) aw, thanks =) I admit, I did feel pretty clever.