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Today was the first day of school. Preschool. TJ has been so excited about this day for so long. Me? My anxiety spiked last night, and I still haven’t been able to tame it. But this isn’t about me.
TJ woke up before 7:00 this morning. I tried to get him to go back to sleep, but he didn’t. He was too excited. He was too excited to eat his Fruity Cheerios for breakfast.
[img:2828889875,medium]Tom and I had both stayed home from work so that we could bring TJ to school and pick him up afterwards. We got him dressed and packed his backpack with a change of clothes before heading out the door. We took some pictures outside on the lawn before we got in the car.
We got to school too early. Even after stopping to take a few more pictures like some of the other parents were doing, we got to the school door before it was opened. TJ got upset, stomping his feet in impatience. If he couldn’t go into the school, he wanted to play “in the park,” because the playground was right next to the walkway. We told him no, because we didn’t want him to get so involved in playing that he wouldn’t want to go into school, and we also didn’t want him to get dirty. It was hard for him to be patient, but he was able to calm down by the time the teacher opened the door.
[img:2828922131,medium]TJ ran right in and made himself at home. Ms. Maureen is TJ’s head teacher; she called us last night to make sure he likes to be called TJ. She is helped by Ms. Diane and Ms. Sandy. The teachers had made name tags for all of the kids, and parents were asked to put the stickers on our children’s backs. That makes a lot of sense; I’m sure they see more of their backs than their fronts when they’re playing!
While I went to hang TJ’s backpack up on the peg with his name on it, TJ went right to the doll house. Then he moved on to the train set. Then he tried to get into a few things he shouldn’t have been touching. Then he decided to sit and color a picture of a butterfly.
[img:2829762676,medium]When he was finished coloring, he decided to follow the lead of one of his classmates. He sat down at the computer, which was turned off. It took a little convincing to get him out of the chair. Luckily, there were a few Magna Doodles set up at the table nearby. He tried to draw on one that another kid was using, but we were able to get him to sit down with one of his own. It was at this point that he said to Tom and me, “You leave?”
Before we left, he tried running into a few rooms he didn’t belong in, but the teachers herded him out without a fuss. He’s going to give them a run for their money.
We gave him hugs and kisses, and he didn’t put up any fuss when we left. There were a few kids who were in tears, but TJ couldn’t wait to be rid of us to do his own thing.
So Mommy and Daddy went home.
I managed not to cry, but I was a mess inside. I couldn’t wait until 11:30 rolled around to pick him up.
We were told to meet him at the end of the sidewalk; the teachers would bring the kids down to us. When his class came out, TJ was leading the pack, holding his teacher’s hand. I don’t know if there’s any rhyme or reason to the order, so I don’t know if I should read anything into that.
TJ didn’t want to leave. He started stomping his feet until we let him lead us over to the dock where he fed the fish. They have a nice big fish pond, and the kids get to feed the fish every day, weather permitting, until the pond freezes over. TJ loved it.
We got him off the dock by asking him if he’d like to say goodbye to his teachers. As he gave one of them a hug, she leaned in to ask me if we were sure about his use of the potty. Apparently, he had a hard time using the potty in school. He didn’t want to stand, which I already knew, and he didn’t sit back far enough on the seat, so he ended up not going. We’ll be working on having him get himself on the potty alone before class on Tuesday.
Tom carried TJ to the car, because the boy just didn’t want to leave. (“Want to do it again!”) We headed to lunch with the grandparents, where he talked all about his day while I looked at the papers left in his backpack.
So what did he do?
The play stations for the day included train tracks, a doll house, kitchen play, Magna Doodles, and a sensory table filled with sand. They had circle time and sand the “hello song.” They had movement and music to “get the wiggles out.” They read two stories, Barney & Baby Bop Go To School and Mouse’s First Day at School. Their small groups included coloring sheets, busy buttons, and playground fun. They had a snack of pretzel sticks and apple juice. They fed the fish and sang their “googdbye song.”
Sounds like a really great day. I’m so proud of my big boy.
That’s me: Christina Gleason. I’m a writer, editor, and disability advocate. I'm a multiply disabled autistic lady doing my best in this world built for abled people. I’m a geek for grammar, fantasy, and casual gaming. I hate vegetables. I cannot reliably speak, so I’ll happily conduct business over email or messaging instead.
