Kindergarten bound *E*

Today is the day that I have dreaded since the moment I saw that positive sign on the pregnancy test almost 6 years ago.  Today my baby started Kindergarten.  🙁

 

This whole week has been a week of ‘firsts’ for him.  Tuesday he had his first visit to the dentist.  He was so excited about going.  And he did AWESOME.  The dentist and hygienest couldn’t get over how well he did with no real instructions from them.  He sat down, opened his mouth and  never complained about a single thing even though he had no idea what any of it was.  Best news:  no cavities and really, really healthy teeth.  So yeah on that!

 

Yesterday he had orientation for Kindergarten.  I got to go along with him for that while Daddy stayed home and took care of the other two boys.  It was nice to have the chance to do that with him, just the two of us.  We met with his teacher, did some of the necessary paperwork that she needed/wanted so she knew more about who he is.  He got to choose which table he wanted to sit at, he chose the white table, and then got to choose which chair he wanted to sit at so his teacher could put his name on it for him.  Apparently he will be sitting next to a little girl named Gracie.  After making those big important decisions he was told to pick out his cubbie.  It was kind of amusing to watch that process as he looked up and down the row of cubbies looking for "the" one.  lol  He finally chose the very first one in the entire row and excitedly took the stuff out of his backpack and put it in there.  Then it was time to put his extra school supplies in the boxes the teacher had out, and then put the snacks and Kleenex away he had to bring in.  Once his backpack was all unloaded we ventured out into the hall to find his locker and hang up his bag.  He located that right away since we had looked at it while we waited our turn with the teacher.  She thought she would have to help him figure out how to open it, but nope, he walked over to that thing and opened it like an old pro.  lol  Then it was back into the room for some more last minute things, questions, etc.  His teacher took a picture of the two of us together.  Then he handed him a baggie with bunch of items in it and a letter explaining what they were for.

a peanut butter cup because she said "I am nuts about you!"

a Starburst candy because "You are going to be a star in my class!"

a roll of Smarties becuase "You are going to learn so much this year!"

a sticker because "We will all stick together to help each other"

an eraser because "It’s okay to make mistakes…..that’s how we learn"

a marker because "You are going to leave a great mark in kindergarten this year!"

and lastly a "I am SO happy to have you in my class!  Love, Mrs. S"

It’s kind of corny, but it’s kind of cool that she put so much thought into doing something for the kids like that and coming up with creative ideas about what to include.

And then she handed me this little gift bag that was all tied up.  On the front was a note attached that said "Not to be opened until after you have sent your child off to school tomorrow".  And she instructed K to make sure that Mommy didn’t open it before he was gone.  So we brought it home and waited for the ‘right’ time to open it.

 

This morning I got him up and got him all ready for school.  Fed him and then we still had some time left over to just hang out.  So we ventured outside to take the obligatory first day of school pictures that all parents thrive on.  And then we just waited.  We weren’t sure which way the bus would be coming from or anything so we just hung out in the foggy morning waiting, talking, laughing and just enjoying those last few moments with our son.

We talked with the neighbor and her little boy for a while.  But he goes to a different school for 4K so they don’t ride the same bus.  He left before K’s bus came.  Finally we saw his bus enter the neighborhood so we knew it was only a matter of time before it finally made it around to his stop.  Then suddenly we saw the flashing red lights in the distance amongst the fog.  My heart kind of sank at the thought tht it was only moments away and I would have to say good bye to my first born and send him off on his own into this big old world alone.  He on the other hand was so excited that it was driving him crazy that it was taking so long to get here!  lol  The bus came rumbling down our street towards us, my son giggled with delight that it was FINALLY here and he was finally going to get to ride it (he’s been waiting for a loooonnnnggg time to be able to do that!).  The bus stopped, the doors opened and he literally RAN to the bus and was up the stairs before DH could hardly snap a picture.  So we got one as he was running to the bus.  He quickly disappeared into the bus and jumped into a seat before we knew it.  The doors slammed shut with the wave from the bus driver and he was off.  He never looked back once, it was all systems go from the instant he saw that big yellow bus from a distance. 

He’s been gone now for about an hour and 15 minutes.  By now he’s experienced his first time on the playground.  His first official day started an hour ago in the classroom.  I’m hoping that the rest of his day is as exciting and fun for him as the bus ride was this morning.  I can’t wait for 4 p.m. to finally get here so I can collect him from the bus and hear all about his day.  To say I miss him right now would be an understatement.  🙁

But after he left and we came back in the house I remembered the gift bag from his teacher. So I went and got it and opened it up to see what was inside.  And this is what I found:

a package of Kleenex, a package of tea, a cotton ball and a letter from his teacher with the following:

 

Dear Family,

Thank you for entrusting your child to me.  I promise to do my best each day to be your child’s companion in learning.  After you have wiped your tears, make yourself a nice warm cup of tea, put your feet up, and relax.  Then hold the cotton ball in your hand.  The softness will help you recall the gentle spirit of your child.  I will work alongside you this year to help your child grow.

Sincerely,

Mrs. S****

 

Ok, so as if this day wasn’t already hard enough as it was that made it worse.  When I read the first sentence I broke down crying.  DH prompted me to keep reading because he wanted to know what the rest of it said.  So I continue to read on about the Kleenex and tea.  But when I read the part about the cotton ball and what it was supposed to mean I totally lost it.  I downright just started sobbing.  Who would have guessed that something as simple as a cotton ball could have such an effect!  It seems all I’ve done this morning so far is cry since he left.  Today is a hard day, a very hard day.  🙁

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/p>

I can’t believe the time has passed so quickly.  It hardly seems possible that he should be in Kindergarten already.  Seems like only yesterday I was bringing that little bundle of joy home from the hospital and hoping that I knew what to do to keep him happy.  Now I look at him and hope that what I’ve done over the past 5 1/2 years of his life has prepared him for the journey he started on today.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited for him to have this experience and I know this is a normal part of growing up.  But none the less, it doesn’t hurt any less to have said good bye to him this morning. 

Like I told DH this morning after K was gone.  Before we know it, we’ll be doing this same exact thing with E.  He laughed and said "that’s a long way off yet!".  But I told him, "that’s what we thought when we had K. And look where we are already".  I think he finally got it.  Before we know it we’ll be unloading his stuff outside of a dorm room.  My God, where does the time go and why does it have to go by so FAST?  Where’s the slow motion or pause button on this crazy life?  I’d like to slow it down just a little bit, to enjoy my kids being small for a little while longer.

I’m not ready for this.  But guess what, it’s here, it’s a reality.  Now all I can do is make the best of this new journey we are taking together as a family.  And remember all of the good times I’ve spent with him over the past 5 1/2 years and enjoy all of the beautiful memories he has given me so far.  Today starts a whole new chapter in our lives.  Here’s hoping that it’s one of the best ones yet.

 

 

********************EDIT*********************

 

Well, he made it home safe and sound on the bus.  That was one of our big concerns.  But his teacher told me yesterday that she would be waiting on the sidewalk for him when he arrived in the morning to get him off the bus and where he needed to go.  And she would walk him to his bus at night to make sure he got on the right one.  And she also had these flourescent green wristbands made up with their names, addresses, and bus info on it.  So she put those on the kids too so the bus drivers can check to make sure they are on the right bus.  The teacher said to keep them on about a week and then everyone should know what to do, etc.

He’s the only one that gets off at our stop.  The bus stopped and he didn’t come.  I was wondering if he forgot where he lived!  lol  His driver was checking her list to make sure she had him and what not so she could check him off that he was home.  She kept checking back behind her and finally I saw him kind of stand up and she told him it was ok.  He got to the steps and I had the camera with me.  She must have seen that and told him "stay put I think your Mom might like to take your picture", so he stood and smiled then came bounding down the steps to me.  He was giggling and just so excited when he got off the ground.  He ran right over to me and grabbed my hand.  What a good boy! 😉  I asked him how his first day was and he said "It was pretty good Mom!"

Just before he got home I had quickly baked these little school bus cookies for him.  So the instant he walked in the door he started sniffing and said he smelled cookies.  He immediately ditched his bag, took his shoes off and went in search of the yummy smelling cookies.  While he was eating one of those he wanted to know if I was going to look in his bag because he had stuff in there for me.  So I got out his take home folder to see what all the teacher had sent home with him.  Some more things that require $$ be sent to school (never ending I swear!).  Some magazines, a permission slip for him to be a part of a group that works with peer aged kids that are in special education classes that need to have a "friend".  We don’t know what to think of that since yesterday his teacher right away wanted to have the speech teacher evaluate him for special ed.  So we don’t know if this was something that all the kids got, or if they sent it home with him to get him in this program.  I kind of wish I knew, ya know?  So it will be something that DH and I will definitely have to put some thought into.  And lastly what was in there, that he couldn’t wait for me to find, was a certificate that said "K had a great first day of Kindergarten!" and it was dated and signed by the teacher.  It was cute because it had a little school house on it, a bus, and a bear with a crossing guard badge, etc.  And she had the kids color the picture.  I didn’t know that at first.  He was so excited and asked me if I noticed it was colored and I said yes.  I asked if he did that and he said yes he did it all by himself.  He did a really great job. Everything was colored in nicely and in proper colors for what the object was.  I was very proud of him!

After looking at all of his treasures we went and sat in the living room.  He crawled right up on my lap happily chewing on a cookie.  lol  I asked him about his day.  He said they just colored that picture.  lol  But then he was telling me about the playground and all of the equipment he played on.  He said "It was all pretty cool!". lol  He said he put his tennis shoes on because he didn’t want the sand and dirt to get in his Crocs.  But I wonder if his teacher didn’t have him do that for gym or some other activity because he normally wears crocs and never cares if dirt gets in them.  lol  I asked if they read books, he said yes but didn’t know which one or what it was about.  I asked if they took a nap, he said yes but just a tiny one and he really did sleep.  Who knows.  lol  Then I asked him if he ate lunch. He said yes, he had eaten a cheese sandwich with ham in it and it was very good.  Lunch was our biggest concern outside of the bus.  See, our district uses a 4 digit code that the kids use from K-12 to access their accounts.  That is the ONLY way they can eat at school.  But they have to rmember that code and punch it into the comptuer all by themselves.  And he was having trouble remembering the sequence to push in.  But thankfully the teacher made up some sort of special card with their number on it and helped them out so they got lunch.  I was just glad to hear that he actually ate!  Plus they had snack and milk this afternoon.

Yesterday he had to choose a table to sit at for the year.  I knew that the chair directly next to him was assigned to a girl named Gracie, but I didn’t know any of the other names on that table.  So I asked him if he remembers any of the kids names from his table and he said he couldn’t remember.  I asked who he sat next to, didn’t remember.  But he said he sits between two girls.   THAT he remembers!   lol  But he said "all they do is horse around all the time and try to scare people".  then he said that when they line up to do stuff those two girls "get louder

and louder and keep horsing around.  They shouldn’t be doing that because people are trying to get work done there!".  I couldn’t help but laugh.  That’s my son, he’s the one that recognizes what shouldn’t be done and will point it out so that you know it isn’t proper to do that. 

The other thing he keeps going on and on about is that "Mrs. S****, she teaches me EVERYTHING!"  I’m not sure what he thought she was there to do or what he was expecting.  But he is amazed at what she tries to teach all of them.

DH can’t wait to come home and see him and find out how his day went.  I don’t know if he’ll get any more answers out of him than I have, but he can try!  lol  He ate his snack, asked if he could please have something to drink, and then informed me that he would like to relax on the couch and watch a movie.  So that is what he is doing now.  His brothers are both sleeping, his Dad is still working.  So I’m off to spend a few minutes with him before the rest of the house comes back alive for the day.

I would say that the first day was a success.  Best of all, he wants to go back tomorrow!  lol