First day of Pre-school

Wow, what a day! All three kids gone for 5 full hours. It was amazing.

We got up early this morning, prepared 3 lunches, packed 3 backpacks, got 3 napmats covered and packed into the car, ate breakfast, got 3 little ones dressed, brushed teeth, combed hair, then 2 of them had to change clothes because of toothpaste of their shirts, took pictures, went potty, changed a diaper, and loaded the minivan for preschool.....whew.

Everything was going great as we walked into the building. Adam was clueless about what was going on, he is used to dropping Regan and Dylan off at school, then coming home with Mom. We dropped Adam off first, and he went right in to blow bubbles with his teacher. I was able to put away his stuff, sign him in, and talk a little to the teacher aide before I went over to tell him goodbye. I said "Mommy's going now, I will see you later okay?" He said "Okay momma". As I started to walk away, he followed saying "wait mommy, wait". I told him to go blow bubbles with your friends, and I will see you later". He said okay and went to blow more bubbles. We left for Dylan's room.

Dylan froze at the door. I had to about shove him into the room. He was very quiet and withdrawn, but no tears. I told him I would be back right after rest time, and he said okay. He didn't want to sit at the table, so his teacher aide came and sat with him to help him write his name. He seemed fine when we left for Regan's room.

Regan stayed attached to my leg the ENTIRE time I was unpacking her stuff. We met a couple of friends and talked to the teacher a little, but she was not budging. I had to pry her off of me while she cried and I gave her to the teacher. She always has a hard time in the beginning, but experience has shown that she is fine after a while.

As I walked out the front door of the school, I felt a huge sense of relief, a little sadness, and a lot of trust in the school and teachers. St John is by far the BEST preschool. I just can't say enough about it. Regan and Dylan have been there since they were 18 months old, so everyone knows us well. It feels like family.

When I went to pick them up this afternoon, I thought I would start with Regan since she had the hardest time this morning. She was still napping, and the teacher said she had a GREAT day! She cried for about 5 minutes and then was fine the rest of the day. Same story with Dylan. He had a GREAT day, but did shed some tears after I left earlier. He was fine after a few minutes.

Adam was a different story. He was in the teachers arms when we got there, and apparently had been in her arms most of the day. She said "he really missed you mommy". The teacher was able to distract him a little on the playground to watch the birds, and then again at lunch, but that was it. Poor baby was so sad. His voice was hoarse and his eyes were so red. Friday is going to a rough drop off. Hopefully it will get better with time. His teachers are great, so I know he is in good hands.

When we got home, we celebrated with some ice cream cone cup cakes. Everyone was in a great mood before we even drove up the driveway (3 minutes from the school). I think we will all sleep good tonight.

Love, Wendy