Luke is sleeping soundly so I thought I would go ahead and record my thoughts on this special day.
For 10 years now, I have been the teacher or the administrator that greeted parents, eased their nerves, gave them the ins and outs details of the school year, and, most of all, ensured them that their child would be in good hands. Now, for the first time ever, I'm on the other side - I'm the mom that is hearing the ins and outs details of the year - I'm the one being greeted by sweet, sweet teachers who have chosen to spend their time with children, like my big boy Luke. :) For years, I wondered what it would be like to be on the other side of this process. I've always thought - I won't be a nervous or emotional mom because I know what happens in schools. I am part of the team that makes sure that schools are safe and do what is best for kids. And, you know what, for once, I was right - when I met Luke's teacher, I was calm, not nervous, I was excited, but not emotional. I enjoyed talking with the teacher and already feel very confident in her abilities to take care of my son. I guess today was a little anti-climatic! I don't mean that it wasn't an important day, because, yes, it was....and it was super exciting for Luke especially, but, for me, I think I am so excited for him and so confident in the school already, that it was just a step forward in my little man's development.
When we (me, Landis, Luke, and my mother in law), stopped in front of his classroom and saw his name under the "Ms. Brenda's class" apple tree. Now, that's super cute and did make me realize that, yes, this is really happening....my little boy is going to be starting preschool. I tried to get Luke to stand under the apple tree but had no luck...he was too intrigued in everything around him. (I will try to post the two okay pictures that I took next week whenever I post pics from his first official day.)
Next, we walked into his classroom and there sat a cute little girl named Hannah - Luke's first classmate. They barely looked at each other and then off Luke went. He sat down at the table and immediately began working the puzzles and "reading" some books. Then, he tried out the tunnel and rode the very cool zebra patterned rocking horse. His next stop was the shelves with the little cars to push and the buses to play with. From that point, he pretty much explored everything in the room while the grown-ups chattered. Ms. Brenda talked to me about the supply list, the monthly calendar, how lesson plans would be sent home, the daily schedule, had me write down emergency numbers, reviewed the snack schedule, and shared some other misc information with me. She was very detailed, organized, and seemed very on top of things. I was impressed with the organization and very impressed that the teachers would be sending home copies of the week's lessons so that parents could work with the children at home on the same skill. I was also impressed with the programs that Shady Grove invites in to do special things with the kids like Musicare and Creature Teacher. And, of course, the daily schedule was full of great things - bible study, crafts, academic time, playground time, and music time - all things that Luke needs and will enjoy. We finished up by just chatting about where we went to school, where we worked, other people we knew in the community and then both teachers gave Luke a kiss, he said, "bye-bye" and off we went.
A few times during our 30 minute visit, Luke did ask to go out the classroom door. When we left, Landis said, "I'm scared he's going to be bored. He will be cooped up in that room all day." Well, I'm not worried about him being bored at all - he will be around 5 other kids with very fast paced activities going on all day - he will be busy, busy and he will love it! My mother-in-law is worried sick about this transition - she's worried he will miss us or he will get hurt. She told the teachers 4 times that he loved to jump off of things. I would have thought that I would have been the one reminding them of these things, but instead, it's the people that have never been on the other side of this whole educating process. :) Yes, he may get scratches or a bruise. Yes, he may miss us a time or two. Yes, he will encounter a classmate that he has a toddler disagreement with (which could be initiated by him or the other kid-Luke has quite a temper himself). But, all these things will grow him and teach him to adapt so one day, when he walks into a Kindergarten classroom, he will be ready - he will have faced some of the challenges that school brings and everything will not be a shock to him.
So...in summary, as you can tell, I'm super excited about Tuesday morning - the official first day of preschool for Luke. I might cry a little because it is such a huge accomplishment for him to stay somewhere without a family member for 3 1/2 hours for the first time and a few tears might fall because it's just another reminder of how fast he is growing up. But, my tears will not be from worry or apprehension - Luke's ready for this and therefore, I'm ready....
I am posting two posts back to back so please continue reading....the next one is very cute!
Have a terrific Thursday!
Toddy
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