ON TO FIRST GRADE

Jack’s ready to give 1st grade a try

It’s school time! First grade is here and Jack is a legit school kid! We’re on to full-day, big kid stuff. 2 days in and he’s doing great!

In July we went to an occupational therapy appointment. Being that we are always working on transitions, our therapist warned me that Jack needed to prepare for school starting at the beginning of August, with an August 22nd school start date. School is a big shift from summer, and first grade is a big adjustment from kindergarten. We should practice our morning routine and polish our night routine. We should visit the school and walk around and discuss the lunchroom, since that would be a new experience. He should practice wearing shoes and socks, since he’s been in sandals all summer. We should meet with new carpool members and get familiar with their cars. Etc.

That was a great idea. I planned to make up visual schedules in early August for before and after school. I was on the lookout for new shoes well before I would typically buy new school shoes. I knew we needed to shift to an earlier bedtime soon.

Aaaaand in the end summer fun kept creeping into all of this school talk. I came up with lots of excuses for postponing school preparations. I was looking in the wrong places for new shoes that needed velcro in his size. The school was too far away to easily visit and we were still finalizing the carpool. His summer visual schedule was working perfectly, so why change it now? And did the Olympics right at the end of summer mess with anyone else’s bedtime routines??

Anyway, suddenly it was Back to School night! I quickly told Jack that we were just going to see the school and we would meet his teacher! (Read more about his amazing school here.) He wasn’t happy driving there and he was NOT happy when we pulled up. It was one of those doomed-from-the-beginning situations when I dragged him through the parking lot and the front door. He ran back outside and the tears and screaming began. And my lack of preparation slapped me in the face right there at the school’s front entrance.

I finally coaxed him in the door, down the hall, and into the new classroom. His fresh, smiling teacher got to meet a crying, “no, no, no” mumbling, shaking his head kind of kid. It was not awesome. We headed to the lunchroom to check it out and I am now very happy there is a playground out its door. That’s where he finally relaxed, and so could I.

My quick attempt to count down to school

Well, thanks to this experience a week before school started, I realized it was time to actively discuss school. A crude countdown was scribbled on our kitchen whiteboard. This worked well enough, judging by Jack’s commentary every day the moment he woke up, announcing the date and how many days left. We repeated his teacher’s name and his grade all week. We met the carpool, the perfect shoes jumped out to me at a different store, and I made a huge effort to at least get him in bed at a decent time. By the night before school, he was excited for “1st grade, big kid!” to start.

The morning of was amazing. All of my kids were awesome. The carpool parents all drove their kids separately and I planned to walk him in (screaming and crying? who knew how it would go). Before pulling into his school, I had to stop for a different school’s bus stop, where I was on the front row watching a flock of parents wave and take pictures and give hugs to their first day of school kids. How did that scene of strangers make me start crying?? Oh boy, would I be the one making a tearful spectacle in his classroom?

Jack was so excited to see the school as we drove up. 1st Grade! Hurry Mom! I found exactly zero parking spots. Hmmm, the carpool lane was completely empty. And so, I reluctantly ditched my well-laid plans and dropped off my excited 1st grader at the curb. He went inside with the friendly staff helping him. And I drove away, disappointed that I missed that moment. But also happy that my presence was perhaps unnecessary. And maybe it turned out for the best.

After a long, very quiet day, I picked him up. I was overjoyed to hear him say as he got in the car… “Mom, I missed you.” And when going to bed, exhausted, he said, “School was very very fun.” Phew. Success.

2nd day of school morning prep: Love my big kid 1st grader

I would end there, however I was a little worried that the next day would be a different story. That he would realize he had to do that whole thing over again and he might lose it. Luckily, I was wrong. He jumped happily into a strange car for carpool and jumped out that afternoon from someone else’s car to say “Mom, I missed you soooo long!” with a big hug.

Next week might be a totally different ball game as this school thing keeps going on and on. But so far, so good.

P.S. T minus 6 days until Jack’s 6th birthday! Now that IS a subject we’ve been talking about and counting down to for a long time.