LP started preschool this week. This was monumental for all of us. Since the G-man stays home to take of care the kiddos, and especially since I have been home as well for over a year, this was really LP’s first foray into the world of being looked after by someone other than his parents. He has never been to daycare. He has never been in the gym childcare room while I work out. He has pretty much always had Mom, or Dad, or a grandparent looking after him. The G-man and I figured he would be fine in the end, but that he also might be a little reluctant for the G-man to leave him at school when the time came.
We’ve been talking up school for months. His teacher came for a home visit last week. LP got a new backpack and lunch box, all since he was a “Big Kid” going to school. The night before hand we discussed what he wanted to do with Daddy, before Daddy had to leave (parents go into our preschool and hang out for a bit before official drop-off). He decided on the following (verbatim):
One: Read book
Two: Play
Three: Daddy go home
“OK” we thought. “Good. He gets the ‘go home’ part.” Still, we wondered. How would it all play out?
LP got to school, ran around playing (and ignoring the G-man). The G-man finally corralled him into read a story, and the LP was off again, with a quick “good-bye” wave to Daddy. When it was time to pick him up, LP went on and on about what fun he had at school, from playing on the climbing structure, to watching the garbage truck, to singing the “Hello” song. When I got home from work he sang the song for me, told me all about his day, and said “thank you for my yummy lunch.” Oh, and the G-man had 3 1/2 hours with a calm and happy baby IP.
Pre-school is AWESOME!!
