Today Mekdes started Kindergarten!
Before bringing Mekdes home I thought I may homeschool her for kindergarten to aid in our attachment and time together, but once she was here and seeing Ella go off to school each day it was evident that she would not be happy with being home schooled. Ella's school was already full for kindergarten so we prayerfully went forward with trying to find Mekdes a school that would be a good fit. We found her a spot in a christian school for 5 mornings a week, which is great for consistency of schedule. And it starts earlier than Ella's school, which works out well for getting both kids to school on time. But the best part is that out of the 12 other kids in her class, there is one other girl that was adopted from Ethiopia within the last year. Isn't that awesome!
I believe Mekdes will do great in school, she's a good listener and loves to be helpful.
My concern for her is that she doesn't know social norms and I fear she could alienate herself from the other kids by insulting them, or rather just speaking the truth...
Like how she always ask when seeing a large person "Too much food or baby?"
I've been talking with Mekdes about being polite and not saying these things to people, but this morning as soon as we walked into her classroom we were greeted by the principal and Mekdes grabbed my hand and whispered too loudly "Why her teeth black?" I did not see any black teeth on the principal but I'm guessing that Mekdes saw fillings, the principal was very nice as I explained that we're working on learning social norms.
Ella came with me to drop Mekdes off at school and then I brought her out for a little time together, just the 2 of us. It took only an hr before Ella said "mom, I really enjoy spending time with you but I kind of miss my play mate"
I was prepared for some difficult behavior this afternoon, brought on my this huge change of starting school and leaving the family. But, we had none, she got in the car and said "lunch, rest time, movie?" yes, and then blue berry picking.
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1 comment:
Awww.. good for you guys!! It sounds like school will be really good for Mekdes. Bereket is still learning some social skills, etc. The most difficult habit for us to resolve is "staring". She tends to watch the other kids a lot, she is studying them, figuring out exactly how she should behave in order to fit in, etc. but she is always being called out for "staring". "Stop staring at me!" she hears a lot. It's hard, because she really doesn't get what the big deal is, but it has made things difficult for her. Praying for M and for B as the new school year gets underway. We start up next Tuesday.
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