Preschool, Day Two

Thanks to everyone for so many well-wishes about BJ's preschool -- I'm happy to report that today went pretty well. S dropped him off this morning, and when they arrived BJ was reluctant to even go inside. S consulted with BJ's teacher (Ms. F) and the director (Ms. D) and ended up deciding that today we'd pick him up right before naptime. Since that's when things really went south yesterday, and since we have no need to impose an all-day schedule immediately, this seemed the best thing to do.

S stayed with BJ for almost an hour in the morning, left as they were starting snack (to no tears!) and told BJ he'd be back after lunch. So BJ ended up being on his own for about 3 hours. When S went to pick him up, BJ seemed fine. Ms. F was pretty busy settling the other kids down for naptime, so they didn't have much of a chance to talk -- but she didn't have any major concerns to report, which is a good sign. When we asked BJ if he had fun, he said yes; when we asked if he cried at all during the day, he said, "A little. When I missed Mommy and Daddy." He went on to explain that a teacher helped him feel better.

Later in the afternoon, he asked when he'd be going back, and when I told him it would be next Tuesday, next week, he informed me that he wanted to go all by himself. He didn't want to be dropped off; he wanted to drive himself there. "When you're sixteen," I said. "And hopefully by then you won't still be in preschool!"

So while it would have been nice to have him move without incident into spending entire days away from home, I'm not at all surprised that we are doing this with little steps, and I'm proud for how well he's doing so far.

And it has been simply wonderful to have the luxury of one-on-one time with BB. This morning, we went to a playgroup gathering at the park and got to play with about a dozen other kids her age. Lots of fun. She especially liked the "two slide" (one of those slides that has two grooves side by side, so two kids can go down at the same time). She ran around like a little maniac and crashed for her naptime after lunch.

Having the uninterrupted naptime to work has been a godsend, especially this week as I prepare for the baby fair on Saturday. It makes an enormous difference in my creative output. I finished putting together the jewelry display that I've been working on (tonight I will be beading until I can't stay awake any longer). Then this afternoon, after BJ got home, A and C came over and kept us company. A lovely ending to a very good day!