So the day for Joey and I to part finally came today! :) He had his first REAL day of preschool today. Last year we did a program called Creative Parenting, which was a one hour condensed preschool with your mom - but other than that Joey had never been to school. No mother's morning out, no gym daycare. Aside from the occasional babysitter - Joey and I have been stuck like glue for the past 3 years.
So needless to say - this was a big step for him. And me.
Given his history, I expected today to be very difficult, but he actually handled it very well. I was so proud of him!
He started off the morning by telling me that he didn't want to go because he would be scared and he would cry. But when the time came to get in the car he grabbed his "pack pack" and ran out excitedly.
When we got there, we waited outside on the benches for a while and chatted with other early birds. This is when he started to look nervous (as you can see in the pic below). Then they opened the doors and the mass chaos of drop off began.
The hallway is a little narrow and Joey's is one of the first classrooms, so all the other kids and parents were streaming past us in a mass of people. He couldn't get to the hooks in the hallway to hang his back pack up quickly, so by the time he did all of the other kids had gone in. And I would say about 80% of them were crying. So as soon as he hung up his bag and knew it was time to say goodbye the tears started.
I gave him his kiss and hug and launched him into his teacher's arms. Then the door was quickly closed behind him. I could hear his screams above everybody else. And like a naughty parent, I lingered in the hallway and waited until I didn't hear him screaming anymore. Then one of the teachers came out and asked me to leave. :) I told her who Joey was and she said that she had just had a conversation with him about snack and that he wasn't crying anymore.
So I left. With tears coming down my face.
By the time I got to the car I had pulled myself together and Carlee and I drove home. It was a very quiet ride!!
Of course I was early to pick him up so I spied on him on the playground. He wasn't crying but wasn't running around enthusiastically like some of the kids. I could tell he was a little out of sorts being alone so that made me tear up again.
When the door opened for him to leave he ran out and said "Mommy, I cried a little bit. Can I still have a lollipop?" I guess he wasn't too traumatized!!
Once home he told me the following things about school:
1) "I cried a little bit."
2) "I sat on the fish." (his spot on the animal rug)
3) "I ate goldfish for snack."
4) "I played with the trains."
5) "On the playground I rode a bike." - when I asked if he played on the boat (Noah's Ark) he replied "Yes! There is a tunnel underneath, but I didn't go under cause it looked scary."
6) When I said that he gets to go back on Thursday he said "No mommy, my teachers said I can't go to school annnnnymore!"
So it sounds like he had a good day, but I have a feeling there will be some more crying on Thursday. And possibly for the next few weeks. But I am happy that he recovered quickly and I know that although he is shy and reserved at first, once he gets comfortable he will be able to enjoy school and have a great time!
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Here is his name on the door and a darling picture of him and Carlee hugging that melts my heart!
Love.
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