Gavin's First Day of Preschool

My oh my how time has flown by. The thought of sending my child to school seemed so foreign up until this last year. Down here in Florida they have a free program called VPK (Voluntary Pre Kindergarten) where 4 year olds can attend school 5 days a week for a half day. Well Gavin missed the cut off date by 2 weeks. All of his friends were going to be starting school & he was really showing an interest in school too. So to no surprise, I was really bummed finding out he didn't make the cut off. For multiple reasons, but mostly because he & I were ready to start having some time apart from one another. Gavin & I have a very hot/cold relationship. When it's good it's REALLY good. And when it's bad, it's REALLY bad. We have such similar personalities that we often end up clashing when we interact with each other. I felt like it would be a good idea for us to have a little break from each other for a couple hours a few days a week. So with the missing the cut off news I started looking into preschool programs that we would just have to pay for. I toured a few different schools not really thinking I would be able to tell a difference in what they would have to offer a 3 almost 4 year old. Boy were there differences. There was one school that had such poor lighting, it gave off a feeling of prison. No thanks! Other schools were okay, but not great. It was actually the first school I toured that caught my eye & that I felt really good about. Parkway Christian Preschool. Another bonus to this school is that it's really close to our home. So after discussing all the details with Doug we decided it was best to enroll Gavin in the 3 Day Preschool Program. 

We've been talking about school all summer & this kid was super excited about it. We bought new clothes, shoes, back pack & lunch bag too. He was constantly asking, "Is it time for me to go to school yet?" I had many moments where I thought to myself, "I cannot wait til school starts!".  Talking with fellow moms that have children starting school were very sad & distraught about the idea of being away from their child for a few hours every day because they would miss them. I could not relate. Is that bad of me to admit? The biggest thing that started to worry me & still does, is the fact that I'm no longer in control of his doings or whereabouts all day, everyday. I can't see how he's behaving or how others are treating him. I'm not there to intervene when necessary. I'm not there to immediately discuss with him whether we say or do certain things that he's hearing or seeing from other children or adults. That is scary to me. I'm not comfortable with it at all.

But I knew this day would come.Gavin woke up Monday morning bright eyed & bushy tailed! He had a perma grin on his face all morning. We had laid out his clothes the night before so that he could dress himself that morning. He was being very vocal about doing so. I kept hearing him call out, "I'm putting on my socks!" Me: "Good job Gavin." G: "I've got my pants on!" M: "Way to go honey!" G: "I put my shirt on!" I was giggling pretty good about it in the kitchen. Such a sweet boy. His excitement was getting me really excited. I overheard him telling Liam, "I'm sorry Liam, but I have to go to school. I'm sorry you can't come with me. You have to stay here with Mom." So cute! The only time I got a little emotional was when I was packing his lunch bag. This is only the beginning of many 'first' days that I will be helping prepare my son for. But that emotion was quickly replaced with excitement as he was bouncing off the walls asking if it was time to go yet. And it was. A few quick pictures to document my handsome boy on his 1st Day of Preschool.

Showing off his new Woody & Buzz back pack.

Gotta love the pose.

When we got to his classroom he threw off his back pack, put his lunch in the class box & ran right in to his seat. He didn't even say goodbye to me & Liam.

I had to remind him that he had a little gift for his teacher Mrs. Pacini.

{I forgot to take a picture of the one we made, but we got the idea from Pinterest}

She loved it! And that's when I finally got my goodbye from my big boy.

Now what to do for 4 1/4 hours?!

It was then that I began to realize that maybe Liam would have a hard time with Gavin being gone. He definitely didn't want to leave the school. He wanted to stay & play with play doh too. :) He noticed the most being in the car & not having his brother sitting next to him. At least that's really the only time he would ask for "Gathins?". We had fun at home playing with our own play doh & coloring. 

 

 Then we decided to go to the mall with Aunt Laura. Wow. Can I just say how amazing it was to go shopping with only one child!

A little retail therapy without battling run away children was just what this mama needed. :)

And before we knew it it was time to go pick up brother. He was very excited to see me & was rather chatty about telling me what he did at school. Hallelujah! I was worried all I'd get out of him was, "I don't know." He had a great first day. I had a great first day. :) So here's to a new phase of motherhood that I will not leave for another 20 years. *sigh*

(Here's a cute little video of Gavin walking into school on his 2nd day.)