Day 3: Fun and some independance. Bedtime is still a battle
Bobbin and I headed off to Big Girl Preschool at 8:30am this morning after she decided I was taking too long to get it together and proclaimed "Mommy, I want to go to school now."
Far be it for me to stand in the way of a 3 year old who WANTS to go to school. I don't think I even brushed my hair before leaving. I did thankfully already have my teeth brushed and deodorant applied when she made her declaration. Otherwise the day would have been rather unpleasant for all.
She did great today. I took a 5 minute break just before morning snack time to "make a phone call in the car". I did, actually, make a phone call in the car. I called Tim and said "guess what? I'm in the car. Bobbin's in her class eating a snack. Without me. She didn't even cry". Then I hung up, checked my work email from my phone, and then went back into class. I found Bobbin eating cheese and crackers at a table with 4 other kids, happily munching away.
At lunch I decided to try it again, for longer. Not that I have anything against cheese quesadillas, carrots, and apples (especially when it is all organic ingredients) but I felt the need to have something slightly more... adult. So after a tearful but quick goodbye to Bobbin, whom I left sitting on her teacher's lap (I heard her stop crying even before I closed the door; not bad at all) I headed over to PCC for a chicken salad sandwich on a croissant, and a chocolate milk (I did only say "slightly"). After I finished my own lunch I called to check in on Bobbin, talked to her teacher directly who told me about the 2 minutes after I had left, where Bobbin questioned her intensely on whether or not she was going to have to sleep at the preschool. She wasn't sure if Bobbin was thinking she was going to have to spend the night, or if she was just worried about being required to take a nap. Her teacher reassured her that naps were not required, and that Mommy would be coming to get her to take her home for dinner. After that, she was fine.
And so, upon hearing that, I did a little shopping and meandering, and then returned to the school precisely 2 hours after I had left, bearing a pint of organic blueberries for Bobbin's class for afternoon snack time, which I handed to Bobbin to give to her teacher when she ran happily to greet me.
We stayed for the rest of the day until about 4:30pm so that Bobbin could experience the afternoon routine, which she had not seen Tuesday or Wednesday. There was a brief moment of angst when she learned that the class would be going down to the "barn" (the school is comprised of multiple buildings; each age group's class is in a separate building) for their snack. But she quickly settled in comfortably, especially after her teacher announced loudly to the entire class that Bobbin brought blueberries to share with everyone and she received a resounding cheer of "THANK YOU BOBBIN!" from the entire group of 20 kids. An age-old tactic. Have food; friends will follow. It worked for me when my mom sent me out of our new apartment in germany at the age of 5, with a handful of red licorices to share with the kids on the playground and "make friends". In reality I know it was a tactic employed for the sole purpose of giving her some precious time to unpack moving boxes without me hovering "helpfully" nearby. But it worked! On both counts :-)
And so, overall, Bobbin had a GREAT day on all fronts and by all accounts. After school we stopped at Target to get some school supplies (a binder, some sheet protectors, and a plastic frame for a family photo) and then came home to play. She had a great dinner, albeit a little late, and she got her jammies on without much fuss. we read two "Harold and the Purple Crayon" stories. Bobbin LOVES Harold and the Purple Crayon. Almost as much as she loves "Courderoy". You just can't beat the classics. And she said goodnight to me without a fuss and settled happily in the big chair with Tim to watch "tec the tractor" before going to bed.
And then... bedtime came and along with it the hysterics and shrieking that has become the standard for the last few days. I think though, we can attribute the bedtime hysterics to something other than school anxiety. Tim and I are now convinced that she had a bad dream recently and is afraid to go to sleep. I stayed in the basement for my full 30 minute workout, surfacing only after I heard things quiet down for a while. As painful as it was to listen and not react, I don't want her to learn that if she screams I will come, because that will set us all up for even bigger failure down the road. So when the screaming stopped and all had stayed quiet, I ventured upstairs and found the lights all on in her bedroom and Bobbin sitting up in bed, quietly reading a book, as Tim sat at the foot of her bed. I snuggled with her for a while, and we talked about all the reasons why monsters can't hurt us and what happens if they come near us, like
1) Monsters are scared of dogs and kitties, and we have a dog and TWO kitties. There's no way a monster is brave enough to even come CLOSE to this house!
2) Monsters can look really scary, but really they'r eactually very shy and scared of LOUD NOISES. So if you do happen to see a monster, all you need to do is stand up straight, look it straight in the eyes, and yell at the top of your voice "GO AWAY MONSTER! YOU CAN'T COME HERE! and stomp your feet really hard. And then the monster will cry and run away because it'll be scared.
3) When monsters get scared, they actually get smaller. And so if you REALLY scare a monster badly, as it's running away it will actually be getting smaller and smaller and smaller until it's so small it's as small as a bug and then you can take your big foot and stomp on it and squish it and then "POOF" it'll disappear completely in a cloud of sparkly dust and never come back.
4) Once a monster has run from you, it never ever comes back. Even if you don't get a chance to stomp on it, it will never come back to the same person twice.
5) Daddy is the BEST monster scarer of them all, because Daddy can make his voice super mean and loud. The entire time I've known Daddy and have lived with him, I've NEVER EVER seen a monster.
Then I cuddled with her a bit longer, and finally left her alone in her bed, and told her I'd check on her again before bed.
Then I came out to the kitchen, had some cookies and milk, printed out a picture of the 3 of us for her to take to school tomorrow, along with her white 3-ring binder and sheet protectors.
Tomorrow I am going to attempt to leave at lunch and go back and pick her up at 4:30. I think I'll go for a walk and try and do some chores. Maybe take a nap. I deserve it :-). We'll see.
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