Kindergarten do-over

Warren started Kindergarten this year. He was so excited, and didn't seem nervous at all. I signed up to go to the school every day for the first week to get the children on the right buses. On the second day Warren's teacher pulled me aside and told me that he "really struggled" with talking too much, and wondered if I could talk to him about it. I was stunned. I know he isn't perfect, but I didn't think he was "that kid". Isn't "that kid"(the kid whose parents get a "talking to" on the second day of school) the one who punches other kids for no reason? I did talk to Warren when we got home and he said he and Austin (a very good friend from the neighborhood) were talking when they were at the rug with the class, and the teacher asked them to go to their desks to put their heads down at their desks for the rest of rug time. My motherly instincts kicked in, and I immediately had a pit in my stomach, knowing that he needed a change of environment in order to succeed. I feel strongly that Kindergarten really shapes a child's attitude of school, and I knew in my gut that if we had a chat with the teacher on the second day, it was going to be a long year, and I didn't want the stigma to follow him. I know that a lot of people would say that it was only the second day, and that we should have given it a chance. I can't explain how I knew, it was one of those mother moments, and I never doubted for a second my decision to make a change. I worried about calling the teacher because I really like her as a person (she was Olivia's 2nd grade teacher, and we loved her), but I knew I had to do it. I called her the next morning (the third day of school) to tell her about my concerns. I told her that I didn't think any class would work in AM since he had a really good friend in all of the classes, and asked if there was a possibility of him moving to PM. She talked to the PM teacher and discovered that there was a girl in PM whose mom wanted to switch to AM, so within 20 minutes I got a phone call saying not to send him to school in the morning and to send him in the afternoon that day. I talked to Warren and told him what had happened and he was so sad. All of his friends are in AM, and he loved riding the bus with them and playing with them after school. Even with his tears, I knew I had made the best decision for him. I was giving him a pep talk before he went to school, reminding him that he would make new friends, and to make sure he listened when his teacher was talking. His response broke my heart. He said, "I know. Because if I get in trouble I have to start Kindergarten ALL over again!" I assured him that the switch wasn't made because he got in trouble, but that I wanted him to have a great year in Kindergarten, and PM was the best place for that to happen, and that it works better for our family's schedule to have him in PM. About a week into the new schedule I talked to the new teacher, and said she had no problems with him at all. I felt better as the weeks went on that he was talking about all his friends from his class, and even better when I went to Parent/Teacher conferences and found out that he is still doing well. He is excited about learning, goes to school happy, and comes home happy!

Here he is with his "getting to know me" poster:

And a close-up of the poster:And while we're on the subject of Warren, I'll include another picture. This was laundry day, and I had washed and dried three loads of laundry, and then ignored their pleas to be folded. I was getting ready to accomplish the folding and putting away, but Warren found the massive pile of freshly washed and dried clothes to be the perfect place to have an after school nap!