School transitions

After a great first week of school, reality must have set in, because every morning when we dropped the boys off at school, there was a hysterical screaming or crying fit by one or both of the boys. Connor seemed especially sensitive, and last Friday he clamped onto my neck so hard I had a difficult time prying him off. Their teacher didn't seem to understand that all she had to do was take him by the hand and distract him for a minute so I could get away, since as soon as I leave they almost always stop crying immediately. I was finally rescued by the art teacher, Mrs. Murphy, who led both the boys into the art room to "help out." I am not quite sure I am sold on their kindergarten teacher, but maybe it's because I was used to the smaller class size and rapport they had with their teachers at the preschool, because they had been going there since they were babies, (literally, at 11 weeks old!). I guess we all need a little adjustment.
This week though, I had a talk with the boys, and let them know the screaming crying fits weren't allowed, and I gave them an incentive. On Tuesday, I told them that if they had a good drop off with no tears or tantrums, that we would go swimming that night. There were very excited and when I dropped them off they seemed fine, until I was getting ready to make my exit and looked over at Connor's seat, and he wasn't in it. I went over there and he was bent over, basically hiding under the desk, because he had started to cry and didn't want me to see! I gave him a big hug and told him he did a good job, and that it was okay to be sad, just not okay to have a fit about it. After that he seemed okay, and I managed to get out of the room without any hysterics. Today I instituted a sticker chart. For every good drop-off they get a sticker, and if they get stickers today, Thursday and Friday, we get to go see Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. It worked like a charm! I dropped them off and said goodbye at the door to their classroom, and there wasn't a tear in sight! Hopefully Because I don't know how long I can keep topping the awesome bribes, I mean, incentives!