Libbi was sent to the principal

Sigh....she had a horrible day at school today. She was not following directions among other things. Her teacher sent her to the computer lab to cool off and she was sent out of there too for not listening. Her teacher then sent her to the principal and they chatted, but yet when Libbi went back to her classroom she apparently was still having trouble. I am frustrated beyond belief right now. We are at our wits end, but we will not give up!

Here is a little info and what we believe. Her teacher from first semester was just a long term sub, her regular teacher returned last week after taking a semester off after having a baby. Libbi does AWFUL with transitions such as these. It happened in preschool last year and now it is again and it is about the same behavior! She is so set in her ways and routines and it is very hard for her to adjust. We do not believe she is at all bored in class (like Abbi was) because she is not so far ahead academically the way Abbi was. Libbi is behind actually. Of course the kindergarten curriculum now includes things I never did until second grade or higher!

Dave will be meeting with her teacher this coming week as we have got to get this figured out.

In the meantime, her punishment for a bad day was we did not allow her to go to dance and gymnastics.....boy was she upset! I sat with her and we discussed it, but I still do not think she has much remorse for her actions. All she kept saying was that she tried so hard to be good. We asked her if she may have been awake playing overnight (this happened before and once we figure it out and stopped it everything instantly improved), she said no she slept all night in her bed.

If it was just some behaviors she was exhibiting to this one teacher, I may question things, but it isn't. She got lower marks in gym and music the most recent grading period and did not get any improved conduct grades from the first grading period. She did improve a LOT in the academic marks though. This behavior is not confined to one place, it is apparently happening everywhere and getting worse.

This week alone we have taken away toys, tv, dance, and everything that seems to mean something to her. We have tried talking to her calmly and giving her a chance to speak but all we can get is she tries. We really do not know what else to do. I feel now that we made a mistake sending her on to kindergarten instead of having her do one more year of preschool. She really did not get preschool because they held her back into the younger class because she still had accidents when she napped. Their curriculum was not nearly as intense and preparative for kindergarten as the older class. I am kicking myself. Abbi was more than ready for school, but I can now say Libbi was not quite. She is indeed learning, and finally learning a LOT, but clearly several things have added up to cause this poor behavior. Thing is, she has shown all these teachers how she can be a great student, but her choice is to not be. The things running through our heads right now....does she have ADD or ADHD or even OCD to a point where change really bothers her? Is there something the school can offer to help her through this? Is she going to have to repeat kindergarten?

Needless to say, it has been a fairly somber mood in our house tonight. She has behaved quite well. But how much more can I take away? I am at a loss. My sweet, loving girl has become the one teachers dread.

Well, I need a hot bath. I cleaned out both linen closets in our bathroom and re-organized. I threw a bunch of stuff away.

More later....