Unlike with Noah, I had no misgivings about sending Avery off to school. This child is ready to fly the nest for a few mornings every week, whether I'm ready for it or not. We still did what we could to prepare Avery for the big event, from making a special trip to buy his beloved Avengers "packpack" that now goes everywhere with us, to talking preschool up as much as we could. I promised Avery he would sing songs, read books, learn how to write his name, make new friends, and do all kinds of other fun things that I didn't know about. We read books about getting ready for preschool, we packed his first lunch together, we talked about the fun he'd have, and how Mommy would always come for him right after lunch, every day.
The first day, he bravely walked in, hung his "packpack" on his hook with his own red frog, put his frog in the pond, put Puppy in his cubbie (lovies are allowed to stay in cubbies, and he can check in with Puppy for a hug or a snuggle when he needs to, but no toys--which hasn't been a problem until this morning when he didn't want to leave his "For" hammer and Captain 'Merica shield in the car....), put his lunchbox on the lunchbox bench, went potty and washed his hands--then said, "Mommy, why are you still here?" He couldn't even work up a crocodile tear for Mommy, so off I went home, to my very quiet, very still house. *sigh*
When I picked him up that afternoon, I greeted him with as much joy as I could muster, only to be given The Eyebrows. I excitedly asked him what he'd done that day, and he only sighed melodramatically. So, I asked him again. This time he replied, "We didn't sing songs." Ohhh. Still trying to be upbeat, I said, "Well, what did you do? Did you color, or read books, or make new friends?" He replied, very grumpily, "We didn't sing songs." I was so afraid that would do him in, but he woke up the next morning, at the crack of down, ready to do it again! And fortunately, Tuesday went very differently: He came bounding out of the classroom, shouting, "Mommy! Some man bringed his guitar and we singed somebody's got the whole world in his hands!" It was just way too cute, and he was so happy!
Avery is genuinely happy at preschool, and excited to be headed off every morning. He reminds me every day there are two Averys in his class ("A boy Avery is me, and a girl Avery is the nother Avery"), and he ticks off all the daily activities he will take part in.
He still hasn't been able to eek out even one crocodile tear for Mommy, but that means he's settled into the routine very well for his teachers. He didn't have any problem switching back into daycare mode for Thursday, but was very disappointed to find out we didn't have anything more exciting than grocery shopping planned for Friday ("Then we go to fwecool after Walmart, Mommy?"). Poor kid!
*As for daycare, I really do feel that I need to give Avery's daycare teachers their proper credit here; I think the transition to preschool was so easy for Avery because of everything they do upstairs with these little ones. Avery was already used to the structure, routine, and other aspects of being part of a toddler group. It is also most likely what made saying goodbye to Mommy so easy that first day! His daycare teachers continue to bless us tremendously!*
Avery has great teachers, and everyone there remembers Noah, so it's been a gift to be able to come back to this preschool. We truly love Noah's teacher, but with the help of the director, decided to pair Avery up with a different teacher--and we truly love her too! This preschool was a blessing when Noah was there, and I can see it still is. Preschool and daycare are in the same church, so it's meant less change and more consistency for Avery, too--another huge blessing!
Hanging his Avengers "packpack" on his red froggie hook.
Ready for the Froggie class!
We found his froggie in the pond, it's right above his head.
Are we really sure he's old enough for preschool?
First day of preschool!
Off to Preschool!
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