Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Bye Bye Big Boy

Emmett started preschool last week.  I have known for a while that this day needed to come, and in the end it was somewhat anti-climactic.  Sometimes you build something up in your head, expecting it to be a really big transition, and it ends up being pretty smooth. 

I waited until most preschools were already in session before I went to visit the ones I was considering.  I wanted to see the class in session and the teachers engaged with the kids.  The decision we made was largely based on the teacher of his class.  He is in the middle of his second week of school and so far I'm still happy with our decision.

When I dropped him off that first day I wasn't sure what to expect.  The only experience he has had with us leaving him with anyone other than grandparents is at church on Sundays, and he has never had a problem.  He barely notices that we leave and he gets mad when we show up to pick him up because he's having fun and doesn't want to go home.  Turns out preschool went exactly the same way, despite being at a different church than the one we attend on Sundays.  Emmett has never been shy.  He's very social and he has enjoyed playing with the other kids in his class.

After dropping him off the first day I sat in the car and cried for a few minutes.  Not because it hurt me to leave him, but because it was a big milestone in his life.  I pulled myself together and took Owen home.  I kept busy so that I wouldn't think too much about it, and soon enough it was time to go pick him up.  I was hoping to find him just as happy as he was when I left him and he was.  He did seem just a little bit glad to see me, which was nice for a change.  (That was the only day he was glad to see me though, after that he went back to being disapointed to be going home.)  When I asked him how his day went he said it was good and that he had fun.  And he wanted to go back the next day too.

The biggest worry I have had about Emmett going to preschool is his behavior.  Emmett is a very active kid who doesn't like to sit for very long.  He is also very stubborn and can be argumentative.  I have had to accept to some extent that this is just the way he is, despite my best efforts to change that.  So far he has only had minor behavior issues, and it hasn't been every day.  I'm hoping that perhaps preschool will help improve his behavior more than I have been able to.