Life isn’t always perfect, but it is good. I’m so excited to partner with our friends at Minute Maid to share this real-life story of my little boy’s Kindergarten meltdowns and eventual redemption. Minute Maid understands that life isn’t always picture-perfect, and thanks to their new campaign, this is GOOD, we can help families everywhere embrace all types of family moments. We hope for a great year but going back to school comes with plenty of transitions. We’re ready for them!
When we moved to our current neighborhood, I pictured walking home as my kids and I talked all about their day at school. Being within walking distance of the school was a requirement when we bought our house. I envisioned them telling me their secrets and dreams while brainstorming ideas and school projects. Their classroom doors would swing open, my baby’s arms stretched wide, and we would walk hand in hand, all the way home.
HA! Not quite. After school meltdowns are a total killjoy!
Last year was rough, particularly on my Kindergartener who was exhausted after school and not at all interested in walking the .25 miles home. But, my husband and I still embrace the walks home with the kids, no matter how they turn out. We just had to come prepared!
Kindergarten Meltdowns Won’t Win This Year!
5 Year Old Tantrums Or Pure Exhaustion?
After a few weeks of what I thought were 5-year-old temper tantrums, I started to do research and learned what is a tantrum versus a sensory meltdown or exhaustion. I had no idea how different they were! I learned how to deal with tantrums that resulted from overstimulation and exhaustion, making changes to our routine and behavioral expectations.
This is what our after-school routine looked like and a few tips on avoiding meltdowns:
- I always had a healthy after school snack that could be eaten while walking home.
- I made his lunch before leaving the house so he could eat it as soon as we got home.
- I stopped asking questions during our walks home and let him tell me the parts of his day he wanted me to know about. Sometimes we walked home in complete silence, too.
- I reserved lunchtime to be strictly for him. Some days we snuggled on the couch, other days he talked for an hour straight.
5-year-old tantrums are common while adjusting to Kindergarten, but it was hard to watch my son struggle. I won’t say my child hates Kindergarten, but it has been a challenge to keep up with expectations. I wondered if we were the only ones struggling…
Once I talked to other Kindergarten moms, I realized that after school meltdowns are totally normal. We are not alone in this! Even better, I can actually help my Kindergartner overcome his exhaustive so that meltdowns don’t overpower his joy of learning.
By paying attention to his energy levels, I learned that he was super hungry after his busy day so I stocked up on easy school snacks for our walks home. Offering him a snack to eat while walking home helped diminish his after-school meltdowns. Why didn’t I think of that sooner? By bringing along easy after school snacks and juice, our walks home started to become what we had always hoped they’d be.
Some of our favorite school snack ideas for Kindergarten are:
- Minute Maid Juice Box
- Cheese snacks and sticks
- Fresh fruit, such as an apple or stone fruit: easy and quick to start eating (peeling takes too much time for a hungry kiddo!)
- Bag of crackers, granola or cereal
Ultimately, I just want my son to love learning but I needed to give him space to reflect and refuel. The hour after school was all about filling up his tank again. To avoid the meltdowns, I had to give my son the tools to recoup his lost energy… both physically and emotionally.
By the end of his Kindergarten year, our after-school routine was good! He was able to focus on doing his best at school because he knew a break was coming soon after. Now with first grade upon us, we’ll be going back to this routine. I learned a lot about avoiding meltdowns, though I know from time-to-time they’ll be back this year. That’s part of real life for a first grader, and part of what makes our life GOOD.
