Back to School - Part I

I wish I could say that going back to school has been a breeze but it was more like a hurricane. Complete with full on sobbing, not mine but The Daughters. She has been super excited for 1st grade since before she even started Kindergarten. She couldn't wait to be a big kid, that was until she actually had to be one. The big day arrived and her mind was plagued with so many "what ifs" that she was in tears before she had even gotten dressed. "What if I can't find _____?" "What if I forget how to do ____? "How will I know what class is mine?" "What if I get lost coming home?" It went on and on. We talked through here biggest concerns as we only 20 mins before we had to leave. We planned a time to talk about the rest in the evening. Then I told her she could cry all she wanted while she got ready, in fact it might be good to get it all out, then she would have to put on her brave face when we leave.

Her she is brave face on,
Ready to go!
Talking with a friend at her lockerHere's the note I slipped in her lunch box unbeknown to her before leaving.
When I picked her up at the end of the day, you would have never guess that she'd been worried at all about 1st grade. She talked non-stop the entire way home plus some about how much fun she had.

Day 2
She got up and ready with no issues. We walked to school and everything was fine. I though we had gotten through it and it would be easy sailing like it'd been for her entire preschool & Kindergarten years. That was until they lined up to go in. You could see the panic in her eyes. The tears immediately started flowing, and the "what ifs" started up.
As hard as it was; I gave her a hug, told her I loved her SO much and that she'd do great and then pushed her through the door. Yes, I really did push her lovingly in. She would have never gone on her own. Once again, she bounced out of class at the end of the day reporting all the fun things she did. Her teacher said once she gets her stuff put away in her locker and gets to class she's calmed down and is all smiles the rest of the day.

How do I teach her that mistakes are okay? If she goes down the wrong hallway, it's okay. Or if she forgets where something is, she just has to ask? I tell her constantly but that doesn't seem to help. I make a great effort to draw attention to my mistakes and talk about how it's okay. I make sure my attitude and body language say it's okay when I make mistakes even. We talk about things all the time and try really hard to keep things positive and light. Yet she still takes things so seriously and is far harder on herself than I ever am. What to do? What to do?


Next up: The Little Man starts preschool on Tuesday! More fun times ahead.... :)