Dad,

My daughter went to school without a fit for the second time today. We have been showering her with stickers and praise, and that seems to be working. I have made an effort to focus on her during the few hours that she and I are home together before she goes to school. Of course, her teachers are brilliant, and today she had a leaf that she picked up from our walk, and her teacher met us in the hall and ushered us in to the classroom with the promise of a crayon etching of the leaf. My daughter was hooked and forgot about me. Well, she didn’t forget, but she was appropriately disinterested in me. I left without incident.

We saw a few of her friends at the grocery store the other day, and she got a chance to make a connection with those kids away from school. She has started talking about her birthday party and whom she might want to invite. It is refreshing to see her begin to open up to those kids and to get excited, at least a little, about school

We have had some great suggestions on the previous posts about how to encourage and empower students that are new to school. I am thankful for all of the input and consideration from everyone.

Thanks,

Bryan