Gracie has been excited to turn five and start kindergarten since she was about three years old. Turning four years old was merely a hurdle she had to jump in order to turn five, as far as she was concerned. So, kindergarten just couldn't start soon enough!
However, we noticed that she started having trouble eating a couple of weeks before school started. She lost her appetite and lost weight, so much so that her swimsuits were loose. And if you spend any time around us, you know that all of our kids have hearty appetites. Grace is a bit picky, but she still eats a lot…usually. Eventually, Jeff and I realized that Grace was worrying about school, but she wasn't able to talk about it for some reason.
In our old school district, the elementary school hosted a wonderful and free program for incoming kindergarteners over the summer. It was designed for kids who had never darkened the doors of a preschool, and the kids came to a sort of pre-kindergarten each morning for a couple of weeks to get comfortable with the school. Jonathan participated and loved it, and I think that knowing where the cafeteria and bathroom were, and how school worked, gave him a lot of confidence.
Our new school doesn't offer that program, and now that we don't have it, I really miss it. Our new school gives us a small window of time to find out who the teacher is and meet her for an hour the Friday before school begins. So, that's what we did. And Grace had to choose her own outfit and stuffed animal to bring, although the pink gloves that she first wore were soon replaced by a tiara. The dress given to her when she was little by our dear friend was a perfect match with her Very Hungry Caterpillar socks. (Most of the time, Grace chooses very entertaining footwear!)
Benjamin had to get in on the fun.
And here she is with the other kids, meeting her teacher for the first time. After she met her teacher, her eating issues went away, and she was back to normal. I had never before seen one of my kids' appetites disturbed that way, but now I have, so I think I know a little bit better how to handle it. Interestingly, as I was talking to our chiropractor about it, he said that there is an actually medical diagnosis: September Flu. He said that every fall, lots of kids have tummy disturbances when school is starting, and they soon go away once things settle down. Who knew!
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