Preschool!

Ian began his first week of preschool last Tuesday morning. He was skeptical about going, especially about making friends. Thomas and I brought him to the classroom a half an hour early so he could see his new surroundings, meet the teacher and dispel any fears he might have. Score one for Mom and Dad.

His teacher greeted him and asked him several questions. He also quizzed her in case she wasn't up to par.

Mrs. J: Hi, Ian. Welcome to the class. How old are you?

Ian: I'm four. Do you know when my birthday is?

Mrs. J: Hmm, I'm not sure.

Ian: It's May.

Mrs. J: So you will begin kindergarten this year.

Ian: Actually, I'm ready for kindergarten right now.

Mrs. J: I see. Well, this class will help you get ready for kindergarten.

Ian: But do you know how to spell my name?

Mrs. J: Let's see, I (makes an I letter sound)

Ian: Right!

Mrs. J: (makes A sound) A?

Ian: Yes!

Mrs. J: (makes N sound) N? IAN?

Ian: You're totally right!

The teacher showed him around the class while I completed paperwork. He stood at a counting bulletin board reading the numbers.

Mrs. J: Ian, I can tell you are good at counting. Can you count to ten?

Ian: No, I can count to THIRTY!

He then sings the alphabet song.

Mrs. J: Is that your favorite song, Ian? Do you like to sing?

Ian: No, I only like to sing at home. (yet continues singing)

We walk out to meet the class and the teacher explains the procedures for pick up and drop off. Ian, meanwhile, is requested to stand on line with the other kids. He begins to look a little glum. As more children come up, he looks like he is trying to hold it together without crying. One little boy is screaming and thrashing around while his parents attempt to drop him off. Ian watches him carefully and I think he decides he doesn't need to go to that extreme. Yet, his mouth is turned down like tears would flow at any moment.



The teacher ceremoniously has all of the children and parents wave goodbye to each other as she walks them to class.



And he is off to preschool, just like that. When I return two hours later, Ian is surprised to see me. The teacher explains that he had a very good day and that they worked on snowman matching and that Ian chose to play with play-doh for part of the morning. Ian greets me with:
"Mommy, I thought you would come back when it's dark out! It's not even dark yet!" As if to say, he isn't quite ready to leave yet.

On Wednesday night, I tell him that he will return to preschool the next morning. He questions us quickly and asks which preschool it is. Once he realizes it is the same class, he said:
"I won't even be scared! 'Cause I've already been there!"

Thank our lucky stars that this is working out as nicely as it is. And I owe my friend Cindy probably a Starbucks every week or something...as she is picking up Ian one afternoon a week for us.

Connor is doing well, but DON'T MESS WITH THE BACKPACK. That was the lesson of the week for all of us. Connor's Lightning McQueen backpack is sacred territory. Also his Lightning McQueen jacket, which he wore during our 80 degree spike all week long. Our daycare provider gave up trying to get him out of the jacket until she figured out that they could put it in sight where he could occasionally check on it.

The first daycare center apparently had a lot of issues with Connor, who was screaming each time he was left there this week. On Tuesday as I picked him up at school, his teacher said he had a rough day because he didn't arrive with his backpack. The first daycare place informs me that they forgot it because he was having a rough day.

So on Thursday, we talked to the first daycare and explained that the backpack is what is keeping him happy during all of his transitions. It has to be with him. His preschool teacher said that she wrestled his jacket off of him because he was sweating and he was then angry for a good portion of his morning. He is also latching onto his monkey pajamas (Julie-these are the BEST pjs-you picked a good one!) and throwing fits about getting into certain pajamas at night. We expect him to have some difficulty when he goes to three different places in the span of four hours and then home again later. There just isn't another way to figure it out right now, so I am done worrying about it.

Other than that, we are hoping to enjoy a nice weekend with beautiful weather! Sorry, New York and East Coasters!