Strikes again

The night terrors have struck again. After a few good nights, I thought maybe it was just a fluke. Tonight's had me very freaked out because he was mumbling about something and pointing at the corner of the room, right next to me like he was talking about someone or something. After about 5 mins though, he muttered it was about the sign on his door. Very freaky though.
So tonight I found that when he was upset, by holding him very tightly so he couldn't swing his arms around and be all out of it, he came out of it pretty quickly. He was so upset though about wanting to build something. I think it may have a connection to school because he kept raising his hand asking if he was allowed to build something. So we went along with it, asking what he wanted to build, what he wanted to use, etc. He kept getting upset and asking over and over and pointing, then when we said he could build, he seemed to chill out a little. I don't understand it though, and it really freaks me out!! I hope that it ends soon. If it happens too much more in the next week or so, I'm going to call and see if we can bump up his 6 yr check up to discuss it.

So for my own notes to remember, each time it's happened it was within an hour of him falling asleep. Just like everything I'm reading has said about. He does not remember it at all. When he comes out of it, he is confused and doesn't remember even a second before. Tonight he was confused why he was out of bed and begged to go back to sleep. It's just hard because it doesn't make sense.....

Tuesday Night Thoughts....

I'm slacking again. I have lots I want to talk about, but never seem to finish what I start. I just deleted 6 blog entries that I started and then just forgot about. Oh well.
What's going on here this week....
Kristopher has a cold. I also had it, but am mostly normal already. I'm assuming it's just the lovely school germs, but his has been going on 3 weeks and starting to worry me. It's not like him to have a lingering cold. Typically it's very fast for him. He's still acting normal and eating fine. No fevers or congestion. Just sniffing and snotting. And sounds a bit funny. Other than that, same Kristopher.

Well, I should take that back. 3 times in the past week we've had what appears to be night terrors. Very freaky. Last night was the worst yet for it. He woke up about an hour after falling asleep, in a panic cry/scream fest. He claimed he had to poop, and was arching around all crazy. He was screaming that he had to go, and he was sorry, and something about not wanting to make a mess. We kept telling him he can go, he was in the bathroom, on the toilet but he would not snap out of it. Anytime we'd walk near he would get majorly freaked all over again. Finally about 10 mins later, he snapped out of it and had no memory of why he was up, what happened, and did not remember being in the bathroom. It was very freaky and we both slept like crap last night worrying about him. I asked him again this morning and he did not remember it still. He thinks I'm making it up.
He had night terrors when he was around 2 or 3, almost nightly but that was different. He wouldn't respond to us at all. Just cry for about 5 mins then go back to sleep. I hope that it was a fluke last night and we don't start something regular.
Other than that, things are going pretty good here. School is balancing out and no issues, we're all getting into a new routine, and the days/weeks seem to be going by fast. Tomorrow is the first time in a few weeks that I'll have my Wednesday freebie day, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. I get my cleaning and stuff all caught up early every day, and the extra 2 kids keep me busy. And I like that. I wonder how long it's going to take for me to get use to the quiet though.....

Oh and in other news, Zoey has a friend. Our neighbor has a dog and we've been outside in the evenings a few nights chatting and the dogs have become friends. I think it's cute.

A special project

Apparently my email of concern the other day has jump started things a little. Yesterday the teacher sat down one on one with Kristopher and he read her a story. Basically to prove himself I guess. So, today's special project for him was to sit in the big rocking chair and read his classmates a story for story time. He LOVED it. He said he only needed help with one word and that he had such an important job. He was beaming as he told me. I love it!!
He's truly starting to change (for the better!) with school and I guess the structure is what he needed. It's kind of sad to see him turning into a big kid. I sit here during the day and look at the baby and remember that was Kristopher 5 years ago. The chunkiness, the cuddling. How can time go so fast? I love that the kids were able to keep coming with the move because it makes my days alone seem so much easier. Because with Kristopher in school, the plan was never for me to be alone this early. There was suppose to be at least one more before that hit. A few more years at least! But anyway...My baby is a big 6 year old and loving and thriving in school now. The special project has made me feel so much better about him being there now. Now it's just that bittersweet feeling.

The response

I guess I feel a little better about the school situation for now. His teacher replied and seems to be nice enough regarding my concerns. Basically the first month or so of school is for them to get use to the new settings, learn the new rules and expectations, and make sure everyone understands what is expected with their routine. Now that that's been done, she said they are getting into more of the "learning" part of things. October they will starting the Handwriting Without Tears program for kid writing time. Since I've explained to her again about Kristopher's reading level, they are going to work with him one on one during some free time, and see how he does, and make sure he's comprehending the story instead of just reading the words. After that, I guess they will determine what is next for reading wise.
She said that he listens great, never any behavior or boredom issues at all and he volunteers in class consistently. It sounds like he is the perfect little student so I feel somewhat better about it. It sounds like he just saves all the negativity for at home, which as long as he is listening there, I should not complain. Last night he came home talking about title pages in books so that's something new.
I told her that if there is ever a point that he does start the behavior issues or attitude because he is bored with what they are doing, then we need to talk asap so we can get on the same page with the behavior plan and redirecting him. I explained about the therapy and early diagnosis of ODD/ADD. Which to that, I still think it was the living arrangement and just the age, but time will tell on that I guess.
I found a nice way to write back about the whole imagination trip comment and just simply said that due to his boredom we stay very busy on the weekends and he will probably start coming in talking lots about our weekend trips soon. If it's brought up again though, I will say something more.
Yesterday I had to go to the store for a few things mid day, and I timed it just right that I passed the school during his recess. He never saw me, and appeared to be playing and getting along great.
In other news, I have somewhat joined the PTO. I put down on his first day paperwork that I'd be willing to be a classroom parent, and help with PTO projects from home or during special times, and they called me yesterday. I figured it would be a good way to get on the good side of everyone since school seems to be all about who you know. They asked if I could help with a giant project and I figured since I have the computer skills and extra time now, that's how I'll help. Sorta scary though. Me, part of that. Funny how we change as we get older..... I'm now on the PTO and I'm also the parent who spies on her kid at school. ha.

Bring on the school drama...

Last night was the first day with homework. During homework, you could tell he was bored. He did it, and when we got to a part where we change the name and made it to Pappy, he thought it was hilarious and it was fun then. But, I still have been noticing the boredom when he talks about things. He has not come home telling us about anything that is new to him yet. Of course, he has been mastering the fine motor skills with a lot of writing. He can now fit his name onto the lines a lot easier and his writing is starting to become a lot less messy. They will not start the kid writing and the without tears program until they have mastered all of the alphabet. So when he does his writing time, it's on his own. An example is they had a paper yesterday in which they were suppose to use the empty space to draw what they did to prepare for kindergarten. He wrote that he "got a bac pak". He sounded out the spelling. When we get home from pick up, I ask what he did, and we look at his papers. He always acts annoyed, and does this little attitude body shake thing when describing it. That is a boredom thing for him. As far as I know, this is only for at home. I have not been told about any concerns or issues in the classroom yet. He told us last night that when he finishes before other kids, he is allowed to go and play at centers quietly till everyone has had time to finish. He says he gets to do that "almost all the time."
Now, I know there are going to be some things that each child is bored with or already knows, I still feel that he should be happier and more into telling me about his day. The things he gets happy about are always the lunch or recess part of things. He does his work, and plays. Maybe that's all kindergarten is suppose to be. I don't know. But I feel uneasy about things still.
And what really got me annoyed last night was over the weekend we decided to do a day trip to the DC zoo. He went to school yesterday excited to tell his teacher about it. Last night when we asked if he told his teacher he says "yes, but she said that I'm doing a good job using my imagination." So after asking a few times, we've determined that she blew it off as an imaginary trip, and doesn't believe the fact that he went to the freaking zoo. The teachers aide told him that it was cool, and he apparently believed the fact that he went, but seriously?????? What kind of response is that? So, I'm officially annoyed with the teacher.
This morning I wrote an email about the boredom concerns and I started it by saying that we noticed while on our long car ride to the zoo....And said how he acted annoyed with us questioning what he learns in school. So, now she can know we actually went and maybe next time he tells her about something cool he does on the weekend, she will believe him. She can get use to it now that we are an active family and we do a lot on the weekends. And distance is not a big deal to us so if we want to do something that is 2 hours away, oh freaking well. We're going to do it if we have the time. And we make it a learning experience while we go. He loves it.
As of right now, I'm not asking for him to be pushed up a grade. I just want them to realize that he is coming home acting like it's boring to him. I'm very glad it's just at home that he acts this way, and that there are not concerns in the classroom. But I feel that there might be too many kids for her to fully see this herself.
He also found in the hallway how other kids in 2nd grade had a project to draw a picture and write something they like. He used his extra time to draw a picture and he wrote "I like cats". I asked what his project was and who told him how to spell it and he said he did it on his own. So after he explained why he did it, I found it funny because it was a picture of a house. I'm very impressed with fact that he did that on his own, and is it too much to ask that a teacher picks up on that as well? She sees all the projects because she is the one putting them in the folder!
So yeah...let the drama begin because I just have this feeling that this is about to become a big push to keep him busy till he hits his level.