Maybe. Ugh. Let me just say that our first day at Mommy & Me didn't go so well…Henry was so excited to get in there, he LOVED the free play during the first 15 minutes or so, and was running from one toy/activity to the next, happy as a clam. And then, once the teachers, Miss Christina (Charlotte's teacher for mommy and me) and Mrs. Donehue (Charlotte's teacher last year), started organized activities, it all went downhill. He didn't want to stop playing with the trucks, he didn't want to clean up, etc. etc. He was NOT happy…and he let it be known. He screamed, he cried, he flat-out did whatever he wanted to do. During crafts, he went and sat at the table, but then he was so upset that he had to share a set of paints and kept on crying…the head of the school happened to be in there at the moment, and she knows me/Charlotte, so she just went and got him a brand new set of paints. So that was fine for the moment. But then he decided he wanted the yellow paint brush the child across the table was using, and not the green one he had…so he started whining again. Next was snack time, and he gladly sat there to eat his goldfish and apple juice…in fact, you could certainly tell my kids don't drink juice--he gulped that down like he was a camel haha, barely coming up for breath. But then it was time for activities in the circle…throwing the ball and saying "good morning", singing and dancing to songs, doing bubbles, reading, etc. All the things Charlotte loved and participated in so willingly…sigh. Henry was just, in a word, completely disruptive. When they were doing the ball, he just kept jumping in the middle and trying to grab it…he didn't so much want to wait his turn. And then he decided he wanted to play in the sand box, or the train table, even though it was closed up and put away. So he just grabbed the top and threw it off the box, I would replace it, and he would scream. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. It was honestly embarrassing. At one point, when all of the other kids were in the circle singing songs, and he was on the slide on the other side of the room, Mrs. Donehue went to pick him up and bring him into the circle…well, little did she know that he would flail and throw a temper tantrum of epic proportions. Ugh. And that was pretty much the entire class….he didn't want to participate, definitely didn't want to wait his turn, and just generally wanted to do his own thing. Not exactly conducive to a 2 year old classroom.
I tell myself that maybe some of it was because he was so tired because I had to wake him an hour and 20 minutes before he usually gets up...or because he was hungry because he didn't eat breakfast in the car...or because he was just out of sorts because he was out of his routine….or because he is still so young (even though there are 2 kids in the class who are younger than Henry, and who were following directions)…or because he is a late talker….but I'm not so sure. I'm worried it is just his personality, and I am not quite sure how to handle it.
I mean, during gymnastics, he never followed directions either…he never went the right way on the "course", would never stretch or cool down, would never sit in the circle…and when I tried to make him, he had a full out temper tantrum. At the time we started, he wasn't even two, so I just assumed it was his age…but I'm not so sure now, and it worries me. It is hard, because it isn't something that really comes up at home…we have our routine, he knows what it is, and there are lots of times when he doesn't want to do things but he doesn't have a choice…but there are also plenty of times when he stands up to Charlotte and she gives in to whatever he wants. But I also don't tempt him. I mean, I don't tell him he can't play with a big, new train table when he is 5' away from it. Part of me thinks that is completely normal behavior for a child his age (especially one obsessed with cars and trucks). But I also don't want to be making excuses if it isn't.
He is also, as I've discussed before, a very late talker. He has been making big strides recently…he seems to be picking up new words every day. Just recently, he starting saying "peas" for please, "ticker" for sticker, "wet", "Poppy", "down", "cheese", "head", "hat", "deddert" for dessert, "Das" or "baby Das" for Cas, and many more now…he even said "ellow" for yellow at school. He is definitely starting to repeat what we say--FINALLY. But it is late for a child his age. I mean, in class, some of the kids (okay, so they were 2 1/2 or so) were repeating all of their colors and speaking in very clear sentences, and Henry just isn't there yet. If you ask him, "where is the red crayon", or "where is the blue truck", he can identify it and point to it, but he can't verbalize it yet. Although that reminds me, he did say "red" and "blue" tonight, haha. But on the other hand, he can differentiate between a yacht, cruise ship, ferry, sail boat, fishing boat, etc. and an excavator, roller, crane, tractor, cement mixer, forklift, etc. So maybe he just has a different skill set, haha.
I know the last thing I should do is compare him to Charlotte, but I can't help but do that…she started this same class when she was 30 months old, so 4 months older than Henry. She was definitely speaking clearly at that point, although she was a very late speaker as well. And she was very obedient and studious, but that is just her personality I think. I just don't want Henry to be the disruptive kid that the teachers/parents/other students don't like…he is such an incredibly sweet and funny boy, he has the best sense of humor, and really isn't difficult at all, so I really fear him being seen that way. But it was only the first class, so I am just hoping it gets better from here :)
If not, we might just have to drop out of mommy & me and wait until he is a bit older and more mature. Mommy & me dropouts…who would've thought?!
Here is a picture of Henry lounging on our bed while we waited to go pick up Charlotte. Apparently, school is really tiring…even if you don't actually participate or do what you are supposed to do, haha.
And here is Henry trying to entertain himself in our room (the only room that is accessible at the house)…thank goodness the Buzz Lightyear ride-on toy was in there, but unfortunately there wasn't much room to ride it (our room is all boxes at the moment!!)
Fingers crossed for a better week next week :)
Xoxoxo
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