Student Not Adjusting to Kindergarten

Since school started it's been a daily battle to get my kid off to kindergarten. She whines, cries and procrastinates. At school, she prefers being with the teacher to her classmates. And rather than paying attention to her work she tries to see what the rest of the class is doing. The teacher is not very happy with our daughter's behavior. What should we do? -- Help Needed
Answer: Your daughter is in kindergarten -- a year in which she is to learn how to adjust to the school environment. She needs to learn listening skills and sharing skills, as well as how to behave appropriately in the classroom. She should master these things so it is easy for her to pick up the academic skills preparing her to read and do math in first grade.
It sounds like you have talked to the teacher about the situation at school. Many young children do prefer being with the teacher until they make friends with their classmates. Help her get to know some of the other children in her class better by scheduling play dates with them. The teacher also should be doing things to help your daughter get to know individual children better.
Your daughter seems to enjoy seeing what the other students are doing rather than working independently. At times, the teacher could put her in a small group with other students so she could learn to work with them.The child also could be seated in the front of the room, away from the distraction of seeing so many other children.
Visit the classroom to observe your child's behavior. Then talk with the teacher about ways the two of you can work together to improve the child's behavior. Perhaps the child could be given some assignments at home similar to those she does at school. You could focus on helping her learn how to handle them and stay on task. You also could play-act work situations at school with your daughter to show her how to handle them.
It is definitely late in the year for your child to be so upset about going to school. Make the morning routine as simple as possible. A rewards chart could be helpful in changing her behavior.