Starting Preschool

This was certainly a big week for Ian! On Monday evening, we all went to his classroom Open House. He got to put his snacks, water bottle, and extra clothing away in his cubby. He eagerly said hello to their classroom fish, explored the classroom toys, and found his name written in various places around the classroom.

He got to see Mrs. Miller again and meet some new friends that would be in his class.

Up until the Open House night, Ian seemed pretty neutral to the idea of going to preschool. He had moments of interest when we'd talk about preschool -- but he also had times when he seemed worried about the unknown (and VERY upset that his school has a no-peanut-butter-allowed policy!). Thankfully, just being in the classroom again changed everything. On Monday night and all through Tuesday, he said many times eagerly, "I get to go to preschool!!"  He told nearly everyone at the doctor's office (for Ryan's 15-month well-check) that he was going to school the next day.

Hee eagerly opened some first-day-of-preschool care packages from thoughtful family members! (Thanks so much!)

And he even did his first homework assignment -- creating a family picture page for their classroom scrapbook. He spent lots of time choosing just the right stickers and drawing a picture of himself with markers in between the photographs.

The morning of August 14, Ian woke up bright and early! He was VERY excited! He had cereal and fruit in the shape of a "P" ("for preschool!" Ian shouted).  We read Curious George's First Day of School while we ate breakfast.

After getting dressed, we had to take those traditional first-day-of-school-with-a-backpack-on pictures, though none of them turned out particularly well ...

Then we headed to preschool! Momma wasn't sure how the transition was going to go for our more tentative firstborn. Ian would generally much prefer to be WITH Momma or Daddy, and he is always a little timid about change. But, God certainly answered our prayers to ease Ian's transition and to give him confidence. Ian paused at the doorway to take a picture with his friend, Annie (in a different class).

Then, he Ian walked right into the classroom and put all of his belongings away. He greeted his teacher, Mrs. Miller, and her assistant, Ms. Brenda.

He showed Mrs. Miller his scrapbook page.

His teacher helped him put up the clothespin to show he was there! 

And then Ian got right to playing ...

Kim (and Ryan) planned to stay for a few minutes to let Ian get settled -- as many of the other kids were just arriving. But Ian said, "Why are you still here, Momma?" Ha ha! What an amazing answer to prayer! We took that as our sign to leave, though I was fighting back tears. It's just so bittersweet to start Ian's gradual process toward complete independence!

Ryan and I went to Chick-fil-a for a Boo Hoo Breakfast with friends Aliceson and Samuel, did some grocery shopping, and then came home to play together. I can already tell what a blessing it will be to have one-on-one time with Ryan! It's nice for him to get extra attention and to play with whatever toys he wants without having to share with Ian. We had a great time together!

Best of all, when we went to pick up Ian, HE had had a great day, too. We heard about it in bits and pieces (mainly when we asked just the right question), but he was always very positive about school. And he woke up eager to go to school again this morning. That's a great sign! The worst part was that pick-up time for Ian (12 noon) is right when Ryan usually starts his nap. Ryan took a 5-minute nap in the car but then thankfully took a little longer nap in the late afternoon. We'll just have to be flexible on preschool days ... :)

We asked Ian what he wanted for dinner to celebrate a successful first day. He asked for pizza!

Today he came home from preschool just as positive as yesterday and with a few more stories to share, like about how he learned special actions for "Jesus Loves Me." He seems to really be enjoying it! After dinner tonight, Ian jumped up and said, "Momma, I want to do the dishes!" As he was washing them, he told us that his teacher had told his class that they should all help their mommas with something before it was nighttime. So sweet! We're glad that he listened so well ... and that he took her assignment so seriously!

We are so proud of you, Ian! You'll have a wonderful year in Pre-K, as God keeps leading and guiding you! :)