Last Thursday, July 11th, Thomas went to Kindergarten. As per the usual, Shawn has heard his share of my "can you believe...?!" statements. "Can you believe we have a kindergartner?" "Can you believe our son is old enough to go to school on his own?" "Can you believe we've, as parents, crossed over into a whole new phase of parenting?" ...and so on. This just feels like such a huge milestone and a huge change. Here we are on day 3 of the official first week and I'm surprised at the transitions and changes that have happened already.
Day 1 of Kindergarten
Now, I'm finally getting back to finishing this post and we've completed 2 full weeks of kindergarten. So I'll go back to the beginning. On his first day, Thomas went for a "staggered entry" day. That means that he was in a classroom with a small group of other kids and they played and completed assessments. But it was a full day with rest time, lunch, recess and everything. Then he started officially on Monday in Ms. Bunn's class.
At his new desk!
Me and the girls walked him to his classroom that first day. We saw his desk, dropped off his supplies and met the teacher and her assistant. Thomas had no problem at all sitting down and getting started on the coloring sheet that was waiting for him. He was somewhat timid, but that is expected in a new situation with new people. Leaving was weird...for me. I felt like I needed to go back and check on him, but I resisted. I knew he was fine and having a blast already. I found it totally strange that in the school halls there were all these little people walking around by themselves! I kept thinking "where are their parents?!" :) As we left the front doors of the school, Caroline looked at me and said "Mamus?" As though we might be forgetting a kid. I assured her that we were not forgetting anyone but that he was going to stay and play and learn at school. I think we may have gone to the store after we dropped him off, bit once home it was, again, a bit strange. That first day I think I did a lot of wandering around the house. It has been amazing to me how much one child can change the dynamic of our home. I have had to figure out this new routine and new normal for our family.
This girl loves her brother!
Proud Mama!
Daddy's big boy
When we picked Thomas up he was all smiles and talkative! I had prepared myself for the worst at the advice of some other mom's because you never know how they will act, feel, etc. He was pooped and had a great deal of pent up energy later that evening but overall he was happy to talk about his day. He mostly talked about the behavior clip chart that is used in his classroom. Each child has a clothespin that starts on green. As good decisions are made and good behavior is displayed the pin moves up the rainbow towards pink. Bad behavior moves the clip down the rainbow towards red, with different consequences associated with each color. He was thrilled with the prospect of earning a prize or privilege if he ended on pink. He was very affected by the fact that the teacher would call his parents if he ended on red. I was glad to see that it mattered to him. In fact, he had one rough day this past week that ended on orange and he melted into tears when he told me about it on the ride home.
So, now that we're done with week 2 we are old pros at some aspects. The carpool process is something to behold but has gone smoothly so far. I'm impressed that the staff is able to get that many moving parts including vehicles and children in the right place at the right time. There are also safety patrol kids to help open doors when necessary. A side note: those safety patrol older kids are something else. They are helpful and kind. I've seen them talking to Thomas as they walked him out of the school or waited with him at the curb. They are also crazy polite! Every day, I've had a 4th or 5th grader tell me to "have a great day" or "see you tomorrow". The first few days they even helped walk the new kindergartners to their class. (By the way, Thomas requested to be dropped off in the circle, not walked in, on Tuesday! So proud of him....even though I still parked and went to make sure he made it to the right classroom) Drop off is a breeze and pick up is a well oiled machine. Most of the time, I pull up to one of the colored cones and my child is standing right there waiting to hop in the van. I won't go into details, but the process is pretty cool for this mama who loves processes. :)
So, my baby is growing up. He is an elementary kid, no longer a preschooler. He is so bright and so sweet and growing up so fast. I love him so much and am so proud to be his mama.
Thomas, I pray for you as you begin this new chapter, that you would have open eyes to see the world around you and soak it all in, open ears to listen and learn, and an open heart to love those around you. Most of all, I pray that God would be near to you always and that you would glorify Him in this new place with these new people. He will use you in a mighty way. I love you.
Other pictures from day 1:
