Tough Week at School

So my happy go lucky daughter who has loved school got sick two weeks ago. She had a very bad cold that kept moving around her body (first throat, nose, voice and ears) and it made her very lethargic. She missed three days of school as a result. Well one of those days I believed my mother-in-law that Hazel was back to her healthy self after spending a day with Nonni so the next morning when she was full of energy I took her to school and I got a call about an hour after I left to come get my sick child. Apparently her energy fizzled out pretty fast. The next school day was class picture day and I brought her in just for the class picture, but otherwise she was stuck at home for a week and a half. Now we are sending Hazel to a Waldorf School and are trying to follow the no media rule at the school (for a great video on why no media is important for young children go here--thanks to Donni, at The Magic Onions for sharing it).

Day 2 of her bad cold she literally just laid on the couch the entire day, so I caved and let her watch television. I picked shows like Caillou and Curious George. (One of the other parents mentioned a study to me that showed shows that went at a slower pace like Caillou showed almost the same brain activity as a child who didn't watch any versus shows like Sponge Bob which showed major brain activity to the point of often becoming ADD.) We also pulled out some of the Disney movies. Hazel is very into the princesses right now and had never seen any of the movies. I pulled out Cinderella since I knew it was not too scary. We also watched Pocahontas. The other ones I thought might scare her, so I kept them put away. 

Now after being home for a week and a half and getting to watch some television, she no longer wants to go to school. On Tuesday morning she woke up at 5:30. She listened to her stories on CD until 6:30 and then came into bed with me crying that she didn't want to go because she would miss me too much. She cried the entire time we were home and then cried more when we got to school. I left her there with the teacher (who was already dealing with a boy who always cries and has been a bit aggressive with some of the students) and figured she would stop once I left. She didn't. From what I understand she whimpered most of the time at school. I had even tried bribing her, but apparently that didn't work either.  I keep hoping it will just go away.

Unfortunately, this morning she crawled into bed with me at 6:30 again crying about not wanting to go to school. It breaks my heart to hear her cry so much. My daughter hardly ever cries unless she is really hurt or overtired, so this is not like her at all. I know she will grow out of this, but I just want my happy child back--the one who loves school.

Any advice is welcome!! Oh, and I'll share some crafts later.