Principal’s office again
The other day when I picked Gleek up from school she came running to me and cheerfully announced “I got to go to the principal today! It was fun!” She then began chattering about how she wanted to go again soon. As she chattered my mental wheels were spinning. She’d been sent to the principal’s office because she was sitting in the doorway of her classroom having a crying fit. The last thing I wanted was for her to start throwing regular crying fits so that she could go visit the principal’s office. Her chatter continued and she told me how she got to watch a movie in the principal’s office and she wants to go back so that she can see the rest of the movie. At this point I was wondering what on earth the principal was thinking. He’d apparently turned his office into a garden of earthly delights. Gleek’s chatter shifted and I realized that she was saying that now she didn’t mind about other kids teasing her because she was like Rudolph.
That’s when it all clicked. The principal and the secretaries in the office are brilliant.
Gleek has been having a hard time going to school ever since the day that one of the other kids called her a crybaby. She has been very anxious that she would be teased again. The principal is smart enough to know the difference between true sadness and crying for effect. He took my truly sad Gleek and talked to her. Then once he discovered that teasing was part of the problem, he helped her know how to deal with it by using the section of the Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer movie where Rudolph gets teased by the other reindeer. He helped her calm down, feel happy, and he gave her tools she can use to be happy on other days.
My fears about misbehavior so that she can go back have completely failed to materialize. Ever since that office trip she has been more cheerful and much more willing to go to school. Once again I’ve been shown how wonderful the administrators at my kids’ school really are. I should probably get them something for Christmas to say thank you.