Henry's First Day of 'Precools'

Yesterday was Henry's first day of preschool.

We had been talking on and off about sending him somewhere since we moved to PA. It wasn't really something I had seriously considered since a) he wasn't potty trained at the time b) it was an added expense c) I'm home all day so it just didn't seem like a necessity.

Personally, I think three is early for preschool. I was planning on sending him for one year starting next year. I'm in no rush to have him grow up, so I'd rather he stay at home and goof around and be a little boy with me (and the baby(ies)) for another year. He can learn all the academic stuff later. It's just not a concern of mine. Like I told Dustin, pretty soon it's going to be illegal for me to keep him out of school, so maybe we should keep him to ourselves why we can.

However, Dustin was already driving the preschool bandwagon... he had been wanting to send him at least a couple days a week so that I could have a break (from Henry) while I'm dealing with Paige and #3.

I looked into a few places around here and found two that seemed good. One of which cost an absurd amount of money. Like, are you freaking kidding me?! And the other place was at the church that we've been thinking about attending. The price for that one was a third of the other place. Much easier pill to swallow. It was confirmed (after speaking with my knowledgeable preschool resource - aka: Abby Bowman) that the cheaper place was actually the better place given the fact that they had a creative-based curriculum versus one that was more 'academic/worksheet-based' at the other place. I'm not an expert in early childhood development and education, but at least I know who to ask, right?

We went on a visit and after speaking to the Coordinator, we decided to send him. (By the way, the Coordinator's last name is 'Heavener'... was she not destined to work at a church-based preschool?).

So, yesterday was Henry's first day at New London Christian Preschool.

Walking in. Remember, Henry has a major aversion to looking at the camera or posing. He's over it and I'm not sure he's ever gonna be 'under it' again.

He looks hesitant here, but rest assured, he was just annoyed I was taking his picture.

Look at him leading dad and baby sis into his classroom.

Blowing bubbles with some kids while they waited for the rest of the class to arrive.

It was while he was blowing bubbles that we left. We didn't say goodbye; he was busy. And I'm sure Dustin will be none too thrilled about me sharing this, but just so we all remember... daddy was tearing up. No tears, just nice watery eyes. His little boy isn't so little anymore. (I had most of my moments of sadness while agreeing to letting him go to preschool in the first place.)

Once I got home I realized that Mrs. Heavener had emailed me two pictures of Henry during his time there. How stinking cool is that? She must know I'm a scrapbooker.

Apparently he made a good impression, because Mrs. Heavener told me Henry was "such a sweetie." Well, all I can say is that I just hope that's still her impression of him in May. :)

I got there 15 minutes early and was watching the kiddos play on the playground. I was relieved to see that he was running around with all the other kids and not crying or playing by himself.

Once the clock hit 3:00, I followed all the other parents over to the fence to pick them up. Henry ran right up to me and gave me a hug while his teacher (Miss. Kim) gave me the report. She said he did really well. He blended right in with all the other kids in his class and even got to be the Line Leader for the day.

I told Henry that for a special treat he could pick to go to McDonalds, Starbucks or to J's Water Ice after 'cools'. Unlucky for me, he picked McDonalds. We had a good time talking about what he did and what he learned.

Funniest part of our conversation went like this:

Me: Henry, did they pray with you at preschool?

H: Yes.

Me: What did you pray about?

H: Jesus.

Me: What did you talk to Jesus about?

H: Jesus is in my tummy.

Me: He's in your tummy?

H: Yep. Jesus is in my tummy.

Me: (After thinking long and hard...) Henry, do you mean that Jesus is in your heart?

H: Uh, yes. Jesus is in my heart.

Me: Thought so.

 

Overall it was a great first day. It went much better than I expected. We will see how tomorrow goes!