School Daze

As a parent, I've learned there are days you think your kid is fantastic, days you think he's driving you nuts, and lots of days somewhere in the middle, or that swing from one end of the spectrum to the other in the span of a few minutes. This morning... I think my kid is a ROCK STAR!

So, as you may remember, Zach was supposed to start "school" the Monday after he broke his leg. What we are calling "school" is the Mom's Day Away program at the local Christian pre-K thru 12th grade academy. Basically they offer a chance, up to three days a week, for your child to spend the majority of the day with them. They do have a curriculum, similar to what any day care program has, but it's not technically preschool (3 is the magic age for preschool). Zach was going to go once a week, on Mondays; obviously postponed after he became immobile.

As a result, today was the big day - first day of school. I wasn't really looking forward to it, since any time we brought it up his response was generally "are you going to come too mama?" or "I don't WANT to go to school!" Not surprising, since this is a boy who hasn't spent a lot of time in a child care setting, other than up to two hours at the YMCA last winter, the hour or less when we separate at our ECFE classes, etc.

We talked about school this weekend, to get him ready and hopefully excited about what was coming. This morning, when I gave him advance warning that we'd be heading out for school in a little bit, I got the "don't wanna" response. So we talked about it a bit, and he started asking questions: did he know anyone there? Who were the teachers? Was I going to stay?

I answered his questions (yes, you've met the teachers, no you don't know any of the kids so you'll have to ask their names and tell them yours, etc), and then I apparently used a magic word: gym. When it's cold, the kids get to go play in the school gym, riding bikes, playing with balls, etc. So he instantly wanted to know - could he play basketball??? Suddenly he was ready to go.

So to make an already too-long story short - all the drama I was anticipating didn't happen. He chatted away with the lead teacher, asking questions. He pointed out that the bear-shaped name tags marking the kids' coat hooks looked like the Twins bear, but that while the one labeled "Tamar" started with a "T", it didn't say Twins because it ended with an "r". :)

And after we'd been there a few minutes and he was already playing, I squatted down and told him I was going to go. And what did he do? He lifted his face up for a good-bye kiss.

I tell you - this kid is a ROCK STAR!!!

I had the strangest feeling walking out of the school; I'm still not sure I can identify it. I was in sort of a daze. It was definitely a mix of disequilibrium, from just not having my little guy with me, and the relief that the transition was so smooth. But you know what the primary emotion was? Pride. And what a great way to start the day.