Last week was a big, huge, major, extra-large with toppings week at the Mac house. It was the week that we’ve all been waiting for – especially Sammy. It’s the week that he began school at the Montessori school where Clare has been going. He’s been asking to go to “school” for several months now. His buddy A left nannyshare a few months ago to go to a preschool at her father’s work, his buddy G goes to school and Clare talks about school every day. He’s enjoyed his time at nannyshare, but he’s been anxious to join the adventures of the “big kids.”
So last Monday was the day! We spent the summer preparing him for it, starting with potty training and moving onto getting his shoes and coat on and off by himself, visiting the school periodically to get him familiar with the teachers and kids and buying a lunch box. We’ve hung out with some of the kids at the school camp-out, playdates and when we’ve run into them in the neighborhood. We tried not to make it such a big deal, since Sammy seems to get a little bit reticent under pressure, but we did try to prepare him for it.
On the morning of the big day, Sammy woke up in his usual quiet, snuggly, slightly cranky self. Clare started singing to Sammy “Happy School Day to You” over breakfast and he whined “don’t sing to me Cla-are! I want to wake up slow-ly!” By the time we got in the car he told her that she could sing to him. She sang, he grinned and we all made our merry way to preschool. Sammy bounced out of the car and made his way confidently into school. He leaned against me for just a moment during our good-bye hug. His teacher came to the door and he looked at her and said “I’ve been waiting for you!” Then took his teacher’s hand and walked into the classroom without a backward glance.
He came home happy, confident and exhausted. He told stories of painting, eating lunch and playing on the playground with friends (mostly Clare’s friends, who took him under their wings in a really sweet way). He talked about the fish and the frog and playing with trucks in the sandbox. He talked about not napping and then crashed in an exhausted, whining heap at the end of the day. In short – he loved it.
It was hard to leave our beloved nannyshare, our nannyshare partners and our wonderful Adam. It’s been wonderful, a huge relief, to have it go so well. The teacher reports that he’s fit seamlessly into the classroom. He’s the youngest child by a few months but he just follows along the other kids with his usual easy-going nature so he’s been an easy addition. Clare adores having Sam at school with her. She has complained a bit that “the other kids want to play with him! So I don’t get a chance to!” I couldn’t be happier that this is the biggest complaint.
Welcome to the world of Big Kids, my sweet boy!