Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Back to School!

Tuesday marked the official "back to school" day for Hayden. He is still attending two hours in the PEAR (Preschool Expressive And Receptive) Language program at the elementary school.

This year I got smart and asked for the 10am class instead of the 7:45am - what a difference that has made! Last year was very difficult to get everyone (ok, me) going so early in the morning. And honestly, if I still have 2 years of sleeping in - I should enjoy every second of them!

Getting up early is one thing, but getting everyone fed, dressed, and in the car is another! I also think that contributed to a lot of Hayden's issues with not wanting to go to school. As soon as he got up, he was being rush, rush, rushed off to school. Add in morning breathing treatments during cold/flu season and it was miserable!

First Day of School

Hayden and I on the first day of school...I would much prefer to sleep in! Haha.

In preparation for school, I did the obligatory school supply shopping. You'd think I wouldn't need to yet, as he's only 3 - but no, there was a long list of supplies needed to stock their classroom. While I was loading up on supplies, I found these great shirts for Hayden's "new school clothes" this year. They were $2 a piece!

IMG_2668

He chose the blue bicycle shirt for his first day.

I had really been dreading school starting because of last year's unbearable separation issues we dealt with (think yelling, screaming, tantruming, clinging to me for life as I try to get out the door) - and honestly, I hadn't seen much improvement in this area over the summer. I almost pulled him out of the program because I thought it was getting to be overwhelming for both of us.

I worked hard last week to prepare Hayden for school. We stopped by the classroom last Wednesday to drop off our supplies and he got to talk to his teachers again. We also read The Kissing Hand -which is a great book, if your kiddo is dealing with separation anxiety -I highly recommend this one. And finally, I prayed and left it in God's hands.

Thankfully, this year, he's a much different kid! He still whines and calls for me as he heads into his classroom, but he holds onto his ring and stays in line with the rest of the kids. His teachers said he did great the first day and still remembered the routine of the class. He was even a "big helper" with the new kids!

What a relief! I was not up for another year of what we went through last semester. Eventually, he's even going to ride the bus! This year he started asking about getting to ride the bus with his friends, so I think he's old enough to handle it. It should also help a bit with the transition and be easier on Corbin and I. Right now, our morning feels rushed because we have about 90 minutes to do something and then it's right back to pick up Hayden.

I'm not sure how much longer Hayden will be in PEAR (once he meets his goals he "graduates") - but for now, this is our life!

Once Hayden starts Kindergarten, I'd love to establish some more "back to school" traditions. I read about Stephanie's annual back to school feast and just loved the idea! I kind of missed the boat this year, but who knows - maybe I can do my own twist and try for an "End of Week" feast to celebrate his first week! I do think it's a wonderful idea to mark each occasion with a special tradition - something for everyone to look forward to! I definitely need to start brainstorming for our own back to school tradition.

How is your "back to school" week going? Do you have an annual traditions for back to school?

3 comments:

Gail said...

where did you go to get the shirts? Did they come in smaller sizes (like 2?) I was thinking about the mountainous task of laundry and the whole own less clothes thing,haha, and we have such a randomn supply of hand me downs that don't really totally fit that don't really technically go together,haha. I would love to buy 5 short sleeeve and 5 long sleeve tops/5 pairs of jeans and say there's your wardrobe for size 2 kid,haha and downsize the rest.

Elizabeth@GoodnessAdded said...

Good luck with your first week! I laughed we I saw your picture. My boys have those same shirts. Thank you for the book recommendation. My oldest is going to be attending preschool a couple times a week beginning next month so I think that may be helpful.

Just Me said...

Gail - the have them in all sizes from 5T down to 12 months at Walmart. We buy most of Hayden's shirts there and they hold up VERY well.

Elizabeth - Good luck with preschool and I hope the book helps!