Thursday, August 25, 2011

Exhaustion

Friday: the end of the first complete week of school.  For Jedadiah, since he only went to preschool three days a week, this was the first time in his life that he had classes 5 days straight.  As a parent, this entry is difficult to write because I want to remember only the good days.  However, learning, especially learning a second language, is difficult and can add stress to a 5-year old’s life.  When I picked him up from school on Friday, the teacher motioned with her hands for me to stay a few minutes.  I waited till most of the other children were dismissed for his teacher.  (Communication has been a challenge since the school has a closed campus policy.)  I stood on one side of the 8-foot gate and his teacher was on the other side.  She told me that Jedadiah had told her to please stop talking; I am tired and want to go home.  In addition, he had pulled the hair of the little girl who sits next to him.  I felt humiliated and responsible.
First I felt responsible because I hadn’t prepared him adequately for school.  Perhaps I should have sent him to preschool five days a week.  Second, he had told me earlier in the week that one of the girls was bullying him.  Could this be the same girl? Finally, I feel responsible because he is my son.  I had just told him that morning to ignore the kids who weren’t being nice to him and to keep his hands to himself. 
We had a long talk, where he cried, lost several privileges and said he wouldn’t do that anymore. 

About 20 minutes after this talk, he fell asleep and napped for an hour and a half.  He hasn’t napped in months, so he must have been completely and utterly exhausted!

No comments:

Post a Comment