Lucy is in Kindergarten

Lucy started kindergarten today. She hopped out of bed quickly this morning and got dressed. She was eager and helpful and stayed on task better than usual. She wore a new outfit that we'd picked out at Wal-Mart. She really loves wearing dresses and skorts, so her skorts outfit was perfect for her. She got her hair cut a little shorter yesterday to make hair brushing easier. The picture in the book at the hairstylist had a braid across the front, so I asked the stylist to braid it after the cut. Lucy loved it. We left it braided overnight, and it still looked good this morning, so she got to wear her fancy braid on her first day of school.

It was rainy off and on, so she wore her raincoat. And we talked about how the playground might be too wet to play there during recess. I was concerned that she would feel cheated on her first day if she didn't get to play on the playground since that was what convinced her to go to kindergarten in the first place. She was OK with doing something else fun inside instead.

The whole family took her to her classroom. Normally, the kids go straight to the gym, but we were told it was OK to stop by her classroom today. I helped her put things in her shared locker. We said hi to her teacher. She had met her teacher a couple of times at school events over the last two weeks. We think Ms. Clark is going to be great. Most people we've talked to know her as a friend from church and have nothing but good things to say about her. Susie, Lucy's godmother, actually took education classes with Ms. Clark and was super-excited when she found out she was Lucy's teacher.

Before taking Lucy to the gym, we stopped by the bathroom to see what it was like. It was Lucy's nightmare. The toilets are self-flushing, and there are hand dryers instead of paper towels. When she saw them, she started backing out of the bathroom saying "No!" We saw Ms. Clark again when we took Lucy to the gym, and I told her about Lucy's bathroom issue. I told her that Lucy would attempt (and probably fail) to hold it all day instead of use a self-flushing toilet. (I cover the "eye" for her when she uses them with me. We say we're playing peek-a-boo with the potty.) Ms. Clark is going to see if she can coax Lucy into using that bathroom, but there's another one she can use if she absolutely refuses.

I had been concerned about the bathroom situation before I saw the bathroom and had written Ms. Clark a note about Lucy's bathroom issue and let her know that a change of clothes is in Lucy's backpack if she even has an accident. The note also had a few other of Lucy's quirks. I felt like I should be sending a user's manual with her but limited myself to what I thought was most important. I told her that Lucy does not respond well to threatened consequences. If she's told that she will miss recess if her work is not done, the work will not get done. She will focus on recess being taken away and be unable to do anything. She will probably also cry. It's better to tell her you'll give her a hug if she finishes her work in 5 minutes. She'll do it in 3 minutes and throw her arms open for her hug. I don't know what Ms. Clark's usual techniques are, but just in case I thought she should know how Lucy would react. Some teachers might see Lucy's failure to perform in the face of an ultimatum as defiance. That seemed like it could set them up for a bad relationship. The last thing in the note was that Lucy doesn't tell me or Matt anything, so if Ms. Clark thinks there's something we should know, we'd appreciate her telling us because we probably won't find out about it otherwise. Ms. Clark already found out at open house that Lucy is left handed and can already read at an advanced level. My note didn't tell her everything about Lucy. Lucy could be different at school, and getting to know her is part of the fun. I thought I'd let Ms. Clark learn about "digger cats" and "diver cats" on her own.

I think Lucy is going to like school. She liked preschool. This is the smaller of the public elementary schools in town. Everyone we've encountered at the school has been very friendly and nurturing. Lucy knows one girl in her class: Rinoa has been to every birthday party Lucy has had. They don't see each other often, but they are friends. And we were very fortunate that all school supplies and all meals are free this year. Lucy was able to reuse her backpack and lunch box from last year, so other than one new outfit bought on clearance at Wal-Mart, back to school hasn't cost us anything this year.

School is 8:00-3:00, Monday-Thursdays. Fridays end at 1:30 or are completely off. I expect her to be really tired when she gets home, but I'd looking forward to what she has to say about her day (if she'll say anything). (Her answer to all questions about VBS this summer was "I can't say." She's one weird and wonderful kid.)