Things quickly fell apart once we entered the school. We arrived early to take advantage of the breakfast offered to the kids, but Andrew was visibly nervous and latched tightly onto my leg. He wouldn't sit down at the table and didn't want to eat his rice chex. Nothing I said would restore his confidence. He was literally in tears from anxiety.
Then a teacher saved the day. She led him and another little boy to the classroom next door to show them something. We waited around for a few minutes because A) we didn't get to say good-bye and B) we wanted to be sure he was doing OK. After a while, the lady came back. She said that she hoped that we had already left and that Andrew was fine now that he didn't see us.
We left feeling sad for our little guy and his stressful first day of school. We hoped that he was feeling better and making friends with his new classmates. Over the past few months, we've been watching a video about safety and strangers - 'don't knows' and 'kinda knows'. Basically, the video teaches kids not to trust anyone unless your parents say it is OK. Andrew loves this video and has watched it many times. But here we are releasing Andrew to total strangers. What kind of parents are we? What must Andrew be thinking about all of this?
At 1:15, we were back at the school to pick up Andrew. We entered his classroom and he came running to see us. We were anxious to hear his report. We were prepared for some bad news, but hoping for at least some positive feedback. Once outside, he asked if we could stick around until the other kids' nap time was over so he could play with the Thomas train layout!
So much for be concerned about Andrew fitting in. He is now looking forward to going back to school tomorrow morning. I feel like my little guy has lost his innocence. He is now exposed to people who we do not know. Who knows what he'll hear or see while in school. He is growing up so fast. Such is life.
Posts
2 comments:
This day and first week has been a melancholy one for me as mom, even though I've been preparing for weeks for it... I occasionally doubt that we made the right choice. He'll be going to Kindergarten in the Fall, couldn't he just be at home until then?! Yes, I tell myself BUT in Kindergarten they expect you to 1) be used to being away from your parents for most of the day, 2) be used to playing nicely with other kids, and 3) know how to behave in a classroom... Now, Andrew's a great kid but he is used to being around me all day. And, he does not know many kiddos in FL yet, so he's been playing by himself a lot (or with us). And, he has limited classroom experience. So, in many ways this is good preparation for him for kindergarten. But, I MISS HIM!
I think it is the right decision. He's only away between 8:30 and 1:30. I miss him, too.
Post a Comment