Ugh, this week started out pretty discouraging, but I am not going to let the struggle get me down, there is always a positive side to everything even when its hard!
We went to school on Monday and started the day like usual, playing with friends and exploring the classroom. But this time she got bored or tired, or both, a little early. Instead of making her wait we headed for a drive so she could nap but once we got in the car she had a snack and didn't seem very tired. So we went to get gas and after that she fell asleep, so i parked at a beach like last week and let her sleep. But after only about 30-40 minutes she woke up and then i didn't know what to do. I drove around to see if she would go back to sleep but that didn't work, so we went back to school.
Her class was playing outside so thats where we went, and even though she is still not really a fan of playing outside i have been able to distract her on and off from one activity to holding her to the next. One thing she really liked was watching her friend go down the slide over and over (from my arms of course). But then i got her to try it and she really liked it! I would put her at the top and count to 3 and slowly pull her down, by the last few runs she was sitting at the top and wiggling herself down the slide! It was awesome to see her understand and enjoy something new, independently!
Once we went inside we all washed our hands and sat down for lunch, as soon as i told her we were going to have lunch she was demanding food! She ate a lot! She has been using a regular cup at school too which i think she's starting to get the hang of, who doesn't have an occasional spill at this age, right? After lunch we went home and she was able to sleep a little more on the way.
The next day was a little different because she slept in. We got going a little bit later than planned and didn't get to school until almost outside time. She was not having it! I didn't really know what to expect for her nap after her sleeping later than usual but i was hoping it was going to be later. She already seemed really tired, she was really fussy and wasn't even content with me holding her on the playground. I brought her inside for awhile to try and distract her and she explored the rest of the school and another classroom, but then she was just ready to go. So after only about an hour of being there we went home where she happily napped.
I felt so discouraged after coming home, after her being pretty fussy both days and so many struggles because of this nap time i felt like giving up again. But we won't! Next week we are going to try afternoons. The reason i didn't try at first was because after nap not a lot goes on before kids start getting picked up. But i kind of feel like its our only option to at least try it and hope it goes better than the morning filled with nap interruptions.
On a good note, we've already noticed her "talking" a lot more around us and when she's playing independently. She's starting to incorporate more pretend play and connect toys to real world objects and interactions. I think going to preschool and watching the other kids play has already had a positive effect on her learning.