So Proud

Addie had a GREAT first week of kindergarten (actually it's been a great first month)! I'm so thrilled for her. She wants me to walk her in every morning but most of the time doesn't even turn around to say goodbye. I love driving up and seeing all her cute little classmates lined up out front waiting for their moms to pick them up. She gets in the car after school so happy and always has so much to tell me about all the fun things she got to do that day. They go to the library, they get to do computers, they go out to recess, and her favorite thing is when they have 4th grade buddies. The 4th graders come in to their classroom and get to do an activity or read with them. Her 4th grade buddy is Annika. She is thriving and growing and learning a ton! They started getting homework a few days in...and that wasn't a fun experience at first! She's much better about doing it now. She usually has one math sheet a night, a word list to practice reading each week, and then from time to time she has a special reading sheet and little books based on where she is on the reading levels. She breezes through her math sheet and is doing great at sounding out her words and reading them. It is fun to see her learning things and starting to recognize things and even spell them! I go and volunteer in the classroom once a month. It has been fun to see what they do each day and to get to know some of the kids a little better. 

She's made friends with quite a few of the kids and a few of them have even been over to play! She has a fantastic teacher who uses music to teach a lot of the information and it's right up Addie's alley!!!! She has always had a love for music and is always singing songs and humming tunes. Now she sings the songs she learns at school all day! I love that it is helping her learn! 

They also have some great aides who help the teacher out each day and are able to help give the kids a little more individual attention. The kids love their teachers and helpers and it is such a comfortable and happy learning environment. We have already had one parent/teacher conference and got a GREAT report on her! She's right on track, getting 100% on her reading lists and math tests and her teacher says she's a very energetic and enthusiastic learner! I have been worrying about this whole experience since the end of January when we were in the thick of the anxiety and OCD. It was constantly on my mind...always wondering if we were going to have tears or problems with her staying at school or being away from me. I didn't want to have to go and sit in the classroom every day like I did for preschool! I was even more worried when the opportunity to go to the charter school came available....it was hard to know what was going to be the right decision for her. 

We knew she wanted to go to school with her friends and in a way, we wanted that too- since that's how it was when we were kids. We were worried that sending her to a different school would possibly make it worse or make things more difficult. After thinking about it for a while, and weighing the pros and cons, we decided that we would give the charter school a try.  

When we first told her, we were met with a lot of tears. It definitely pulled on the heartstrings. The next day she asked me if she had to go there, I told her she did and from that moment on she has accepted our decision and made the best of it. 

We feel like this is a good fit for her and we are so glad that the decision to send her there has proved to be a good one. We are so proud of her. I know she's had anxious and nervous feelings about things over the last month but she's handled it so well. We LOVE seeing that sparkle in her eye that tells us she's truly happy. We know that this battle/journey with anxiety will likely not ever be completely over, we are just hoping and praying that she will continue to do well throughout the winter and the rest of the year. WAY TO GO ADDIE!!!! We love you!!!!