Toddy: Luke's First Day of Preschool

Well, I knew when I heard Luke talking in his crib at 5:50am - yes, an hour earlier than his regular wake up time, that today, his first day of preschool, could get interesting! :) And, it was just a little....

Because Luke was up so early, we had a good time playing before we left this morning. Luke was in a fairly good mood - ate a hefty breakfast of oatmeal, played with his toys, rode Thomas, and then, proudly put on his backpack at 8:00 like he was ready to go! :)

We arrived at the school around 8:25 - Landis met us there too. I had my camera ready and Kleenex (just in case) and, of course, Luke's tiny Elmo backpack had everything he needed for the day.

Daddy carried Luke to the door. We passed tons of people that we knew, which was quite comforting and then when we reached the front doors of the school, we asked Luke if he wanted to walk - he shook his head, "yes!" so we put him down to walk. We turned down the hallway to his room....he, once again, went straight to the tree outside the door...he pointed to the apples and talked about them and then he headed to the gate at the door and immediately began pulling on it....he seemed eager to go play. Mrs. Felicia opened the gate, he walked right in, walked to the back of the room, and sat in the floor with another kid...he was smiling, he was content, so I kissed him on his head, took one picture, and went out the door. Landis and I stood there for a few minutes to see what he did...he began playing with the kitchen set and then the tools table...Mrs. Brenda looked at us and smiled as she grabbed a hammer to show Luke...that was our cue....out the door we went.

Before leaving, I filled out the top part of his daily form (which I think is a really neat idea)...this form is something that parents sign the child in on but it also asks questions such as what time they woke up and what kind of mood they are in. I made note on his sheet that he woke up an hour earlier than usual and that he was probably sleepy. After signing the form, Landis and I headed to the car. I teared up just a little as I pictured his sweet little face sitting in the floor....when I got in my car, I looked back through the pictures one more time and still was able to hold back tears. I turned the corner and off I went to my dentist appointment....:)

As I drove to my appointment, a few thoughts went through my head....Will Luke miss me in a few minutes when he realizes what is going on? Will he get sleepy? Will he eat his snack? Will he get scared of the terrible weather? Will they be able to go outside at all, and, if not, will this disappoint Luke? I knew that in a matter of time, I would know the answers to all of these questions....for now, on to my appointments...

I visited the dentist and had a hair appointment and then, before I knew it, it was 11:45 and I was back at the school super excited to hug my little man! I waited until the official 11:50 pick up time and then headed inside. As I turned the hallway to Luke's room, I recognized his cry. It wasn't an awful cry, but one that I knew was probably creating some real tears. As I turned the corner and looked in the room, I saw Luke sitting on Mrs. Brenda's lap....by the time I looked in the window, he had stopped crying and was talking as he ate an animal cracker. I stood there for a few more minutes (Luke still didn't know I was there)....and Luke started crying again, and, yes he had real tears. Mrs. Brenda made eye contact with me at that time and told me to come on in. I immediately grabbed Luke, he stopped crying, and asked for another cracker.

I asked Mrs. Brenda how long he had been upset and she said that she really thought it was mostly that he was sleepy and that he didn't get this upset until the last 20 to 30 minutes. Both teachers told me a little bit about his day....they said....he was very sweet with the younger kids, they loved the way that he told them "yes!" with his large head shake, that he walked to the copy machine with Mrs. Brenda, that he walked with Mrs. Felicia to get the big riding buggy and he was able to choose his seat first....I asked them, "How long did it take him to figure out we were gone?" Mrs. Felicia said that it took him about an hour and then he said, "mommy" and "daddy" a few times....she said that every 30 minutes or so, he would ask for us....he wouldn't get upset, but he would ask for us. They said that he did like getting out of the room, which is why they let him walk with them. They reassured me that overall, he had a great day!

On the way to the car, Luke talked happily with me....when I put him in his car seat, I told him that I missed him and he looked at me and said, "I missed Mommy" and then about 30 seconds later, he said, "I missed Daddy too." Oh my goodness...that will melt your heart!! As we pulled out of the parking lot, Luke was asleep within two minutes - he was exhausted!

As I looked in the rearview mirror at his sweet, innocent face, I will be honest - I went through some serious questions - am I doing the right thing? Is he too young for this? Will he miss us everyday and try to get out the door the whole time? Everyone tells me that, no, as he gets used to it, he will love it! I also know that he was extra tired today and everyday won't be like this....plus, he will only be away from his family for 7 hours a week....that's not too much time! I will give it time and hope that, soon, very soon, he is not crying when Carolyn arrives to pick him up. I also hope with time that I will be able to see the growth that he is making so that will reassure me even more that I am doing the right thing. Speaking of growth, Luke is one of the oldest kids in the class, so I am hoping that he is worked with on his level - I know I'm Luke's mommy so I am biased, but the kid is quite smart - I mean he talks in 4 to 5 word sentences and can repeat everything that we say, so I want him to keep up the growth, not go backwards....it appears that today he received a lot of one on one attention from the teachers so I am hoping it stays that way. Don't worry - you know I will keep you updated!!! :)

In the meantime-I'm proud of Luke for surviving his first day of preschool and I'm proud of me and Landis for managing to make it through the day with just a few tears. I look forward to Thursday - to see how he does - I'm going to have to give my mother in law a pep talk because she dreads taking him and if he is crying when she picks him up, I may never hear the end of it - she already thinks I have made a wrong decision...Oh well....time will tell.

A big thank you to all of my friends who have checked on us today - I really appreciate you thinking of us - continue to keep us in your prayers as the Bumgarner family grows in this new experience....hey, at least we are not waiting until he's 4 years old to go through this. :)

Here are the pictures from Luke's Meet the Teacher day and his first day of preschool...

Meet the Teacher Day....