Last night, Anthony read him "The Night Before Preschool." We set out our clothing and our backpacks. We set out our lunch pails. We did our jammies and teeth. All ready for bed! .....except Timothy wasn't quite ready for bed. There was a lot buzzing around in his head. After 30 minutes of in-and-out, back-and-forth, talking about the big school day ahead and answering questions, he finally felt at ease and ready for bed.
Rise and shine!! Although the Preschool provides a snack each school day, Timothy was really wanting to pack his own snack in his Paw Patrol lunch pail, so we happily obliged. He picked out what he wanted and then settled on scrambled eggs and bread (not toast....just a piece of bread, lol) for breakfast.
Every kiddo got a Brave Rock for when they entered Preschool. Anthony and Molly probably don't want me to say so; but they also had their Brave Rock with them when they started Kindergarten at the Primary School as well. This is Tim's Brave Rock! We told him to put it in his pocket and if, while at school, he felt scared or sad, to take out his Brave Rock and it would help him to feel calm and brave and remember that we were thinking of him being such a big boy at school.
It worked.
It is a tradition in our home to make a sign for each school year with stats and questions. It was soooooo fun doing one for Timothy this year!! What do you want to be when you grow up? "Get a phone and stay home and drive a car." Hmmm....is that all he thinks I do? Haha
It is also a tradition to take back to school photos. Timothy was really excited to officially be part of back to school photos this year. Holy shit, he is so stinking cute!! It was super windy and a bit chilly out this morning, but he was a trooper and I got a lot of incredibly sweet photos to cherish. I especially love the one with Anthony and Molly.
Sammy took the morning off to accompany Tim and I on the first day of Preschool. We decided it would be nice to let the kids sleep in a bit, have a leisurely morning, and drive Anthony and Molly to school. It was definitely nice not to be doing Tim's first day on my own and not feeling rushed and overwhelmed.
On the way to town, we rocked out to Tim's favorites: We Are The Champions, and We Will Rock You by Queen to get us all in the mood. LOL! After dropping Anth and Mols off at school, we met Grandma Cathy at Sodbusters for a quick bite to eat before heading to Preschool. It was a perfect way to get in a little bit of extra specialness on such a momentous day.
Oh boy, the moment we've all been waiting for. Preschool time! Yikes. I didn't even make it in the front doors before getting choked up and having to bite my lip and grit my teeth to keep from bawling. Timothy was all smiles, but he got quiet and I could tell he was starting to get nervous. For his sake, we needed to remain upbeat with smiles, so I collected myself in the hallway and was able to remain calm long enough to watch sweet Timothy hang his coat and backpack up in his cubby. But when he put on his name tag, I nearly lost it again. Good thing I had my camera....it helps to cover eyes starting to well up with tears. I sucked it up while he was showing his teacher his homework and then we headed on back to the back room where all the other kids were playing.
I knew it was time to say goodbye then, but it was so hard to just leave when he was just standing there unsure of what to do. Sam and I tried to get him interested in playing with some toys, but he wasn't having any of it. Finally, Grandma Cathy walked outside to the window and I thought that was perfect....we told him to run to the window and wait for us; we would wave bye to him through the window.
God, he seemed so little. Staring at him through the window, Sam and I didn't want to leave. But I didn't want him to see me cry....and I was afraid that the longer we all stood at the window, the higher the chances were that he would start to cry. So we left. Ohhhhhh that was hard. So hard. We all stood at the car just wondering what the fuck to do next. Get in the car. Duh.
Two and a half long hours later, pick up time! I got there in time to see the kiddos walking back from the playground. When Timothy saw me, he started to walk towards me, but Mrs. Rachelle called him back to line, lol. He looked like such a big boy. I stood in the hallway and listened to the kids have a book read to them and sing a song. When Timothy's name was called and he came out of the classroom all smiles, it melted my heart!
We sat in the parking lot for 5 minutes, I wanted to hear all about his day before we even drove off for home! He told me he had a lot of fun, but that the kids were too loud and gave him a headache, hahaha! I explained to him that kids come in all different types of volume, lol. He said he went potty all by himself without help, didn't need the snack he packed because they had apples and bananas there, and said he got a fun goody bag from his teacher and made a pretend fish all by himself.
He said he got scared when we left. *Sigh* that made me choke up. I asked if he used his brave rock and he said yes. What a good, brave boy. He said he went and found Mrs. Rachelle and she told him it was ok, that I would be back after they played outside on the playground. I'm really glad I showed up right before they walked back from the playground.....it must have reaffirmed to him that he could trust Mrs. Rachelle and trust me to show up as promised. :)
I asked if he made any friends and he told me no, but I explained it was only the first day and sometimes it takes awhile to get to know people. He said he had a good, good day and with that, he was ready to hit the road for home. YAY!!
When we got home, he was so excited to open up and show me all his school goodies! He got some stickers, tattoos, a pencil, a stamp, a sticky rubber fish, and a finger puppet. The fish he made out of a pipe-cleaner and beads is adorable. He already hung it up in our room.
Sweet, brave Timothy, we are so very proud of you! I'm so glad you had a great first day of Preschool! We know you will have a super year and make lots of new friends! We are excited to watch you grow.
It's hard to believe that this was our last first day of Preschool. Our babies are all growing up.
With love,
Mama Hauck
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