My daughter was suspended from school for a day

She is five.

I'm in for a LONG struggle.

the office where she proceeded to have a nervous breakdown, took a few swings and the vice principal and principal, then barricaded herself under the principals desk and refused to come out.

She was contrite the minute I walked into the room.

would absolutlely self destruct. There were times I halfway expected spontaneous combustion to occur. Some teachers handled it some over reacted. She gradually grew out of it .

I think boredom was part of it, and a perfectionist streak that she was apparantly born with that really got in her way for a long time. If for any reason she thought that she could not do the project, homework, art, song, whatever perfectly the first time she would just go ballistic. There was also fear of consequences, I think it may be a form of juvenile panic attack.

There were some rough times. Middle school was the "I did my homework but I just forgot to turn it in?" She was constanly on the verge of flunking the six weeks because she did not turn in her work.

Now she tattoos and pierces people and draws or writes when she has the chance. I had hoped high school would inspire her to do what it takes to go to art school, but this was not to be.


BUT sheis very happy. And we do have a great time together, and I enjoy her company thoroughly.

There was a little girl,
Who had a little curl,
Right in the middle of her forehead.
When she was good,
She was very good indeed,
But when she was bad she was horrid.

Wait. Don't answer that. I had a five year old like that. She's fifteen now...and it's still "exciting". :hi:

Did she point a chicken strip at somebody and say "pow pow?"

After her kindergarten teacher made her stand in the corner for "making a smart comment". I hope that your daughter recovers better than my sister did. Teachers don't think how traumatizing they can be to children that age.

The notes home alternate between how clever she is for her age and how difficult she is to control.

I have that child, too. Or did. It gets better. :hug:

Did you think it was justified? (I can't think of what could justify suspending a 5 year old from kindergarten.) Was the teacher or whoever overreacting?

And she knew it.

who is in fourth grade and NEVER gets in the kind of trouble she used to get in.

When she was in kindergarten, she somehow talked EVERY kid at her table at lunch into giving her their little pre-packaged Little Debbie dessert. She took ONE bite out of each one and crammed them into her lunch bag. What she had to promise to get their desserts, I don't know, but her teacher noticed her lunch bag was MORE full on the way back than it was on the way to lunch.

Another time, she told a little girl in the bathroom, "hey let's show each other our butts!" You know just as a joke. Well they were ALL supposed to do it on the count of three, but only the one girl did. My daughted (again, in kindergarten) hauled off and WHACKED her on the butt then ran out of the bathroom. WTF? I still don't know what possessed her. Her only explanation was that it was "too tempting." The little girl ran out of the bathroom crying with her pants still down around her ankles and my daughter spent the rest of the day in the principal's office.

I think I've blocked out the other stories. I used to drop her off and say "use your powers for good and not for evil" because she could talk a kid into ANYTHING. I was afraid I was raising the kid who was the bad influence on other kids and it baffled me, because we raise her right and don't allow that kind of stuff at home.

Oh I remembered another: locked herself in the teacher supply cabinet and finger painted all over the walls in there. Nice.

Anyway, she straightened out pretty quickly. Have you asked your daughter what happened?

Those are the best stories.

LOL, not at the time. One day I broke down in tears (at home) thinking I had a Spawn of Satan or something. She's just....lively.

She got in trouble in first grade for yelling out SNATCH! SNATCH! during an assembly in which she was supposed to be riding a horse. Well, that's the SOUND she thought a whip made. And she had no idea it was a slang word for the female genatalia. But her teacher totally flipped out.

I'm sure you have some great stories about your kids. They aren't boring, are they?

(I blame her father. His genes. LOL)

Oh my. You had your hands full.

And my 9 year old was born mean as the day is long* so I'm empathetic to how tough it is at the time.

But boy those are great stories.

(* One of my favorites was when she made a girl cry at her birthday party sleepover by interrogating her after the girl said she knew the words to a song she didn't know at all.)

The interrogation sounds like mine. She just needs everyone to be REALLY accurate in what they say. Maybe that's how yours is?

I hate to admit this, but mine can be sneaky as hell, too. You have to be pretty fast around her. She's gotten better about that, too, but still.

I used to tell people she should come with a little warning note attached to her shirt on the first day of school: "IF you do not establish yourself as the authority in your classroom on the FIRST DAY and let this kid know who is boss, she will be running your room before Halloween. I promise. Also she has very "different" ideas about things. Learn to expect the unexpected. Thank you."

Oh and your nine year old would make a great attorney. Law school in her future, maybe?

freqyent admonition, though the truth is I'm pleased with her for doing it.

Her younger sister couldn't care less about accuracy so they torment each other in ways that no one else ever could.

having one.

We wanted more than one for a few reasons, not least of which is that with our highly unusual family constellation (gay parents - 2 moms, 2 dads) we thought it was important that they each have that extra someone in their life.

She did not adapt well to school. Her weapon, though, is charm. The vice told me the story of the first time she had her in the office, she decided to get her bluff in early and was leaning over my daughter being very stern when Satchel looked up at her and quietly said "you're hair is in your eyes."

The vice and her are very good friends now which is why I don't understand the meltdown.

I didn't mean that in a bad way. You just have a very lively, intelligent child.

Don't worry--it will turn into a good thing.

At the end of kindergarten, mine went around checking out first grade teachers and sucking up to them, mostly to see WHICH ONE SHE WANTED.

She'd go up to them, put out her hand and say "Hi, I'm So and So. Pleased to meet you." Then she'd hug them, look up and say "I hope I have YOU for my teacher next year."

She did this to every one. Finally one of them was in the teachers' lounge talking about the "cutest" little kindergartner and told the story. Her current teacher was in there and said "Wait a minute. Freckles? Blond hair? Kind of tiny?" "Yeah...."

The teacher laughed. "Um that's So and So. You've been HAD." A few others said "Hey that same child said the same thing to ME."

It sounds like your daughter is adjusting to school. It really does take some adjustment. And that meltdown doesn't sound unusual for a five year old, though a one day suspension sounds harsh.

Sheesh.

???

/wrong

Please excuse my horrendous ignorance when it comes to these things.

Your daughter is going to go far in life. :)

That is one lousy teacher if she can't control a five year old.

<ope>

Her name is Paige. I call her Satchel because she was named after the great Negro League pitcher.

after a teacher conference with me in the hall - she walked out and said Well, I guess that won't happen again" and we went home to milk and cookies and NO reprimands.

Basically a good kid, I watched and waited and was a "good girl."

Shortly thereafter an early reader's group was instituted. My disobedience was because I was bored and just trying to liven things up - and she had figured it out and talked the teacher into a good solution.