Despite being in denial for as long as I could, it finally happened. We officially have a school aged child that hopped right on the school bus with no hesitation and not even a look back. There were no tears, no extra hugs, no fear. It’s probably a good sign that we’ve done something right, so I’ll try to focus on that and not how rude it was that he didn’t even pretend he was sad to be leaving me.
But to back up, the preparation for this started a while ago. Getting a child ready for school is a lot - there is paperwork and school supplies and labels to put on EVERYTHING. A few weeks ago there was a teacher and classroom announcement where we found out that he didn’t actually have a teacher. It caused a bit of a panic and some worry for us, but luckily one was hired and I think we got a good one. (Is there such a thing as a bad kindergarten teacher?)
It seemed like every week there was another piece of information thrown at us, another thing we had to learn. School bus routes and times. School lunch procedures and menus. After care rules and building codes and I really didn’t realize I’d have so much homework. There are parent groups and someone even organized a few playdates this summer in order for some of the kids to meet each other.
Finally the day came where we got to visit the school in person for orientation. As we walked down the hallway to find his classroom, I suddenly teared up. It was so big - this was a real school with a classroom and he’d be there very shortly. It was overwhelming but also so exciting. His teacher was so nice and we recognized a few kids in his class. The classroom was super cute, as was the gym. At one point the parents left the classroom to sit through and entire powerpoint presentation around more procedures that I’m sure we’ll learn some day, but for now seem overwhelming. It felt so weird to leave him in his classroom with people we didn’t know, but of course not as weird as when we finally put him on the bus the morning of school. After he’d gotten on and pulled away, F was super concerned. I asked her where her brother had gone and she was talking non stop in baby speech and kept pointing up the hill in the direction the bus had gone.
Leading up to the first day I had a bunch of plans. I was going to take the first day of school photos the day before, so we’d be less stressed. I had a book I wanted to read with him, plans to go over. We were going to have a low key day with lots of cuddles. You know what happens when you plan, right? In the end almost none of that happened.
Instead I ran around because we have to vacate our house for a few days (perfect timing with the first week of Kindergarten - NOT) and I needed to find a hotel room that would work. I felt like I still had a bunch of things to get ready and pack in his bag, and then daycare called and said they thought the baby was sick and she needed to see her pediatrician before she could return. Oh and I also managed to vote in the state primary and get my Covid vaccine booster the same day. It feels like life has been piling on non stop lately, and I hate the feeling of how rushed everything is, but we got through.
So the first day of school photos actually happened on the first day of school! It was probably better, since the rain had stopped, and the whole family was home and able to get in the photos. We’ll see how long we all walk him out to the bus before he starts running out there by himself.
In general the first day seemed to have gone really well. He said the bus ride was fun but very fast and bumpy, so he held on super tight. He liked music class and sang new songs to me on the entire ride home from school. He also ate school breakfast and lunch today, which I was worried about, but seemed to go pretty smoothly. He said there was a lot of food and seemed to eat quite a bit. There was coloring and outside time and quiet time, and he came home less tired than I expected him to.
He says that he’s not nervous anymore and totally ready to go again, because now he knows what he’s doing! I, on the other hand, do not. My code for the door didn’t work today and I’m still figuring out all kinds of procedures, but I’m sure I’ll get there eventually.
