Nicholas' first day of school was today and it went beautifully. According to his teacher, he had a great day and there wasn't a single tear. She didn't even have to reassure him at any point that we'd be back. Go Nicholas!
He was excited this morning about going to school, but started to have second thoughts when we actually arrived. We only made it about 4 steps inside the door before he started pleading for me to carry him (which I've started to figure out is a sign that he wants a little physical contact and in many situations I now offer him a hug instead, which he is happy to accept and then walk himself). I convinced him to hold my hand instead and we walked down the hallway to put his lunchbox in his classroom.
Then off to the gym, where the drop-off was helped by the fact that the teacher who runs the early arrivals in the gym (where they go if they arrive before classroom time starts at 9) is one of his teachers and the one he connected most with on Friday. Also, there was a basketball hoop. Miss Danielle greeted him enthusiastically, I knelt down, reminded him we'd be back after school, and then asked him if he wanted to go play basketball and took a couple steps back. His teacher took the hint (I really like her) and suggested he come with her to find a basketball. He looked at us with concern, seeming to debate whether to go play or come running back to us. We smiled and waved, and he walked off with her, not looking back. And we hightailed it out of there.
Fast forward 7 hours later. We picked him up early and he greeted us with a smile and then, "more school." He was pleased to see us, but not relieved or excited and had no desire to leave. It was great! He was okay with leaving when we reassured him that he was coming back tomorrow. (However, he then did break my heart a bit when he asked hopefully if we were going to Alice's house. He is right that often when we picked him up early from school in MD it was because we had plans with Alice. Poor boy. I took him to the pool when we got home, in part I think to ease my own guilt.)
We had picked him up early intentionally to ease him back into school and into the new school in particular. My thought was in part to have shorter schooldays at first, but even more to make sure we left plenty of time after school for quality time with Mommy and Daddy so he didn't feel abandoned. And I still think the latter has merit, but the rest of the week I think we'll aim for a 4:30 pickup instead of the 3:30 we did today. Then again, tomorrow we're going to get new drivers' licenses and license plates, so the efficiency of the RMV will determine what time we go get him.
In terms of the substance of the day, the hour they spent outside was by far his favorite. In addition to standard playground time, they got to splash around in a water table, get messy jumping in a mud puddle, and then wash off with a hose or sprinkler or something. By the end of the summer I have the feeling our clean and cautious little boy may have developed a love for dirt.
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