Friday, August 28, 2009

I think we've traumatized her teacher

When I picked Emily up from preschool on Wednesday, her teacher told me that Emily had gotten knocked down when she walked right in front of someone who was swinging (amazingly enough, I think she's the first of our kids to actually get hit!). Her teacher was nearly in tears as she told me that it took everything she had not to cuddle Emily to comfort her...but she didn't!! She got Emily all cleaned up and comforted her by just talking to her and putting a hand on her arm.

I want to give a huge thanks to Miss K and all of the other teachers in the preschool who are trying so hard to help us with Emily's attachment! They have all been wonderful at trying to understand and follow our requests, even when it goes against their very mother-natures. Emily now gives hugs to Mark when she is dropped off and comes running to give me hugs with a big grin when I pick her up. She is getting better at maintaining distance from people she doesn't know--although she'll still walk up and talk to them, she doesn't try to touch or hug people as often.

At the beginning of the week, Miss K noticed that Emily was lagging behind in coming in from the mulch-covered playground. When she turned to talk to her to encourage her to keep up, she noticed Emily's pants looked a lot more full than they should have. Knowing that we weren't completely convinced about Emily being potty-trained, she took Emily inside and got all ready--gloves, wipes, the whole outfit--anticipating that Emily had had an accident in her pants. When she pulled Emily's pants down to change her, she didn't find poop...she found wood chips! :) :) I'm sure Emily was much more comfortable after those were emptied out!!

7 comments:

Tami said...

Heeeheee! The wood chips story cracked me up! I'm telling you it sounds like something Maddie would do! These girls are SO much alike!
What a wonderful teacher she has..to have set aside the natural instinct to comfort for a short while to do something that will be much better for her in the long run takes not only a lot of compassion, but a great deal of foresight. You have a gem of a teacher there! :)

Unknown said...

Wow, I can't imagine how hard that was...for both of them! But, the wood chips, that's hilarious!

Sarah Halter said...

Hurray for such a great teacher. I laughed out loud about the wood chips in her pants!

Leslie G said...

What a special teacher Emily has! You have been blessed.

Missy said...

I smiled all through your post, thinking what a nice story it was, until I got to the end when Emily's woodchips were discovered and I actually laughed out loud!! What a funny story!!!!!!

BT said...

The wood chip story is very entertaining!

Emily's teacher is great! A teacher who honours our needs for help with helping our kids learn family skills is a real find.

It was forever before we didn't have to worry about our kids not getting wiped out by someone swinging. I am convinced that there is just something about not having had continuous/frequent exposure to playgrounds and swings in early childhood.

Anyway, great news about Emily's ongoing attachment!

Thuy said...

Wow. I just read that and laughed out loud. You'd think she'd want those uncomfy wood chips out of her pants as soon as possible! :)

I'm so happy to hear that her teachers are making progress and respecting your wishes. That is a huge feat for them and I hope it continues for Emily's sake.

BTW, I was so so happy to see you guys yesterday. I am selfish and am glad The J gets you now (and that we do too). :)