Seriously? Is he really that old already? How the heck did my baby grow up so fast?
We enrolled him in a Toddler Adventure class, rather than actual "Preschool", because of his age (32 months - needed to be 3 years old by September 30) and because he's not potty trained yet.
He handled it pretty well at first.
He was the first one in the room and made a beeline for the fire truck. I was trying to capture pictures of his first day, but he was really more excited about playing. I had to ask him for a kiss before I left.
I? Was a mess. Okay, it really wasn't that bad, but I've never left him before... wait, yes I have. But that was with Gramma and Pop-pop. And I had someone to talk to when I returned to tell me exactly what he did, how he reacted, and so on and so forth. I so wanted to peek through the window for the two and a half hours just to sit and watch him. If only they had a video camera in the room so we could watch them from afar.
I kept myself busy though by getting a hair cut and visiting Starbucks for a nice, warm Chai tea since the weather was a little blah.
Turns out, he wasn't all that brave though. According to his teacher, he had an on-off day once he realized I was gone. He would go back and forth between playing, then crying, then distracted by something else, and then cry again. I had expected that much, so it didn't really bother me.
When I went back to pick him up, they had the parents wait outside and call the children out one at a time. I was the first in line and when he saw me around the door, he walked back into the room! Must not want to go home, we thought. So when the teacher called him back, he turned around, plopped himself down on the floor and began to cry. I'm not sure if it was because he was sad to leave after having so much fun or if he was upset at me for leaving him. It was probably the latter because he started asking for Daddy right away. Must have been, "You're the one that left me here, so I want to talk to Daddy!" reaction.
Once he settled down, I started asking him about what type of snack he had, what toys did he play with, did he get to ride a bike... he wouldn't stop talking.
It'll be interesting to see how he reacts to going back on Thursday - he was asking about going back before we even left the parking lot. I think the best thing we did to prepare him was to visit the classroom before school started, meet the teacher last week, and then talk about all the different things he'll be able to do in school. Hopefully, this will be a good outlet for him once the new kid arrives.
2 comments:
I'm new to your blog. Came via Carl's Artistic Balance. I liked the word "Balance." I'm glad I came. I'm on the far side of where you are now. And I remember my mom's face, 52 years ago! I was with my best friend, we were holding hands to walk into our kindergarten room all like BIG girls. I turned around to wave and thought my mommy's eyes were very shiny as she smiled at me with a smile that could light up Milwaukee. That's what I remember. Her smiling.
MOM remembers that I was panicked that she would leave me. I was mad at her. Nancy and I cried that first day. All those things. But I remember her smiling. I was two years older than your son, but you will be surprised how much your calm, your smile, the time you put in--Those are really the things we take with us.
And my son now? he is thirty six. I am his stepmom. But her remembers that I was the one who tucked him in and he remembers the feel of my hand on his forehead when he got all tangle up in his bed. He doesn't remember time before I was his second mom. Or that I made him do his homework... he remembers I stayed with him.
The work you do come back twenty fold... for what it's worth. I'm hooked now on watching your adventures in finding your balance. Thanks for sharing it with strangers.
Aww, he looks like such a big kid!
I'm sure the tears will subside (for both of you) and you'll both end up loving every minute of preschool. It's hard to believe that he's even old enough to be considering school.
Post a Comment