Balch Family Blog

Our “We Survived the First Three Weeks of Kindergarten” party was last Sunday. It was very nice! We had 2 of his friends come over and they really enjoyed themselves.

Camden did not go to school on Thurs or Fri this last week. He had been running a fever and complaining of a sore tummy. This continued and I decided to take him to the doctor Fri afternoon. She had some concerns about his fever and tummy ache and ordered some x-rays. We went this morning. That was a little scary for Camden but he did eventually let them take the x-rays. They even let him check them out! Doctor put STAT on the orders and she called with results about an hour after we left. Camden has a sinus infection that is to blame for his fever. He is also quite constipated and that explains his tummy ache. We hope he will be feeling better soon!

I was leaving a meeting at 3:00 this afternoon and had to wait for it to stop raining sideways before leaving. I thought I would go early to get a good spot for Kindergarten pick up. Well, I was not the only person with that idea. It was crazy! A tree at the school had been blown down and recycle bins all over the neighborhood were on their sides and in the middle of the street. There is another storm in the forecast for tomorrow. I love storms!

I am so proud! Camden is doing such a great job with drop off and lining up for school. Today I watched as he played on the playground and ran to line up when the whistle blew without skipping a beat! It is fantastic to have him go without a fight.

Wednesdays are still hard in the evening. After 3 days of school he is tired. He had a small meltdown last night but it did not last long which was good!

He still tells me that he doesn’t want to go to school but that he understands he has too!

Yeah!

I feel like I should write a book. I would call it Confessions of a Kindergarten Mom. I would fill it with stories from my kindergartener, about my feelings, and other useless information. I am sure no one would publish it and I doubt anyone would care to read it, but it might be therapeutic for me.

Our second week of Kindergarten is over. We had 3 good drop off days in a row. Camden is very tired when he gets home and that turns to anger and naughty behavior sometimes. We are all working through it just trying to survive each moment.

We are looking forward to the weekend. It should be good!

Camden had a great day! I was so nervous about it I was sick to my stomach today. He did great with drop off. Carsten’s sitter (Ms. Angela) took him today and said he did great! Then music was awesome! He sat next to his teacher and sang. Great pick up too! I love good days!

We all had dinner with my mom tonight at Oregano’s. It was yummy!

No more complaints of not feeling well. Things are good!

…That is the question. Camden went to a play date on Sat and got hit on the nose. It bled for a few minutes and we didn’t think about it again until Sunday afternoon when he complained of dizziness and he was uneasy on his feet. We took him to the ER where they said he had a concussion but all labs and scan were clear. They sent us home. Mon morning he still wasn’t steady on his feet so I scheduled an appointment for him to see his pediatrician. She isn’t 100% sure but feels it might be more of a virus and the bonk on the nose was a coincidence. He stayed home yesterday and by the evening he was flying his Lego ship around the house on missions.

We sent him to school today. It was a very difficult drop off. He screamed and cried for me. It really broke my heart to have to leave. It is so hard to make him do something he doesn’t like, and he has 13 years of this!

I did have a friend at the school peek in on him and he was sitting at his table coloring and chatting with a friend so everything seems to be alright now. I dread drop off time!

I thought of many ways to title this post but I felt the above summed it up well. Kindergarten has been a huge change for all 4 of us! Camden having to go and deal with everything, Mom and Dad hurting for their little boy who is not happy about going and Carsten missing his big brother. I am so thankful Saturday is here and I dread Monday!

Monday and Tuesday were good days for Camden. He would get really sad when it was time to line up to go inside in the morning, but do well once inside. As a parent it is so hard to watch your child so sad.

Wednesday was a very difficult day. He was supposed to line up for his music special (the first one they went to this week) and he didn’t want to go. After finally making it (all the way on the other side of a very big school) he wouldn’t sit with the class and he got a time out. Then when returning to the classroom he refused to listen and follow his teacher’s directions and he had a temper tantrum on the floor. That night when he came home he told us little pieces about his day. He was upset and the rest of the night was pretty rough. His teacher is really sweet and chalks it all up to learning the new routine of school.

That night during prayers we talked about how God is always with him even when mommy is not. And if he is feeling scared all he has to do is remember that God is right there with him and protecting him always.

Thursday and Friday were both good days at school from what I can tell. He chose to buy hot lunch on Thurs and he loved the pizza! His favorite part of the week (Friday) was Discovery Science where Mr. Wyatt showed the class how to stick a needle in the balloon without popping it. There was also something with pipes and colored water but that was all I could decode.

Mark and I were sad on Tuesday morning without Camden. It felt like our family day wasn’t complete. I am so sad and I just want him to be happy and enjoy school. Carsten misses him, but also is enjoying the time alone with mom and dad. Mom and Dad are enjoying Carsten too! I take him to a RollyPollies class on Fridays.

When I asked Camden last night he said that he does like school. We all just need time for adjusting. To celebrate we are having a “We Survived the First Few Weeks of Kindergarten” Party! This will be after 3 weeks of school. I have heard several times that if you do something 21 times it becomes habit! So we are going to give it a shot!

Camden did AMAZING! He blew me away with what a big boy he was! He was nervous at times before school but walked in with his class like such a big kid. I am so proud of him! WOW!

I had my spies (friends who teach at San Tan) peak in on him and he was doing just great all day. I am so thrilled with how well he did!

Here are a few pictures of his morning! In some you can see he is a little uneasy but he really did fantastic!

Camden met his Kindergarten teacher this evening. Mrs. Roberts will be teaching him this year. She has been at the school for a long time and has lots of teaching experience. I am so excited for him!

He got to write his name on a name tag and he picked where he was going to sit on Monday morning. He came right in his room and got to work and was quite the big boy! He has a “Special” everyday and 2 on Thursday. They include the basics (music, art, library, PE) but two others that sound quite cool (math investigations and discovery science). I think Friday will be his favorite day because that is Discovery Science day.

My only complaint is that they eat lunch at 10:20 in the morning just 90 min after arriving at school. To compensate they have a planned snack everyday at 1:45. I hope it will be ok for him. He will adjust I am sure!

The boys are going to Pine with their Gran and Granpa. One last getaway before school!