First Day of Pre-School

Yesterday, DS#3 started day care/pre-school at a location we have used in the past for DD and DS#2. In the morning he was THRILLED to be going to "school" (yes, that is what we are calling it). I think part of his dancing and excitement was the idea of being like his big sister and older brothers. It was fun to see his excitement, and gave me high hopes that he would do well during the day. He wasn't quite as thrilled when he realized that I was leaving him there. He has had plenty of experience being left in the child care area at LifeTime Fitness (the gym I go to) and is adjusted to it, but this was a bit new for him.

When I came to pick him up, he looked like this. He was sitting at the table with everyone else with a snack in front of him crying. The teachers told me that he did great during "free play" but when they had organized snack time, playtime, etc. he did not want to stop playing to come to the table and sit down. Apparently he was screaming so loudly at one point that they moved his chair away from the table so the other kids could focus on what they were doing.

Part of the reason we have him there is to get used to playing with other children and getting used to having more structure in his day. He can sit at a table and color, play, etc., for quite a while for me, but I don't force him to sit down at a particular time of day for special activities. His mood, and our other activities, dictate when he sits and colors, or when we read together, not a special schedule. I am sure he'll adjust to a schedule ... eventually.

He calmed down a bit when I got there, but was still out of sorts for a little while. I tried to get another picture of him with his Thomas Backpack because I didn't get any other pictures in the morning (sorry honey!). Tomorrow he has his second day of "school" (he will only go on Tuesdays and Thursdays) so we'll have to see how that goes. Yesterday, I actually got a lot of work done, including a good amount of writing. Tomorrow I have a rather long list so we'll have to see how much I can manage to get done.