Little Miss Grown-Up

So, last night Clara had a bit of a freak-out about grade one. She who has been acting all excited and confident, Little Miss Grown-Up, was giving us a lot of attitude. Belligerance and snottiness was served in heaping portions. I called her on it - change the attitude, or else you'll be spending a lot of time alone in your room. At which point she started crying "I'm not excited about grade one. I don't really want to go to grade one. There's all these words, and I can't read them all! I don't know them!"

I immediately scooped her into a big hug, telling her it was okay. That she didn't need to know everything all at once, that she'll learn more and more. That she's reading more words every day, and doing a great job sounding them out. And that if she's scared, she should tell us, and not act like a grumpy little girl. After a good cry, she perked up and started talking all about grade one, and that she hopes she and Holly (her best friend) are in the same class.

Sometimes, a good cry and a big hug is all it takes to feel better.