We couldn’t have asked for a better first day of preschool. There was so much energy entering the classroom – the nerves and excitement of parents, teachers, and kids – everyone orienting each other to the room, protocol, each other, and from Roan’s point of view – the wonderland of toys. Within seconds he was like, “mama who?” I could practically see sparks shooting from his eyes and fingertips as he made a beeline across the room for something that spoke supremely to him. He flitted here and there while I greeted the teacher and other moms, signed us in, and put his things in his cubby. I heard him say, “oh wow, what’s that? what’s inside?” and then a big crash as he lugged a giant plastic box of trucks down from a shelf. I had to pin him down to get his name tag on, and he didn’t really want anything to do with the teachers. Ms. Alys led us to a bulletin board where she stapled a photo of Roan and I to an outline of my hand cut from construction paper (so he could “hold my hand” if he got sad while I was gone). He looked at us like, “you interrupted me and dragged me across the room for this?”
When I returned three hours later to pick him, all the kids were on the playground outside. I couldn’t wait to see how he was, what his reaction would be, what he would tell me. I saw the teacher first, and she said, “he did well, he enjoyed it.” Roan spotted me first from halfway across the playground. I heard a loud and happy “MAMA!” and then he ran to me with light all over his face. He told me about five times that day, “fun at preschool.” I had a lunchbox ready for him in the car, which I placed on his lap once he was in his carseat. He enjoyed his first ever packed lunch in his first school lunchbox (red and blue and covered in fire engines and other trucks) – a cheese and mayo sandwich on whole wheat bread, cut in triangles, and a bag of grapes).
Later that day he confessed to me that he hit a boy. He also acknowledged that it was “not nice.” I was proud of him for telling me. I love that he is still in the age of transparent, honest, confession. And, although aggression has been our #1 concern these days, it could have been a lot worse than one pop on the first day. On the whole, it was a great success – a happy entry into school, and a momentous day for us as parents.
Raising Roan 