First Day of School

Here they are! Ready for a their first day at school. N is so proud of his Star Wars Clone Wars backpack. H loves the bling on her dress. 

Here is H showing that she will be in 3rd grade this year. 

And here is N showing that he is going into Kindergarten.

After these photos we went to N's school to meet the daycare supervisor before school to help him to feel calmer. We get there...there is no morning childcare program. No one told me. Big problem. School starts for both kids at 8:10 and my school starts at 8:15. It isn't my crazy life unless some problem is coming my way though, right?

Next, we went to H's school early (with permission from her teacher) and met her teacher before school. She seems very nice. H seemed happy. We dropped her off at the childcare center after that and she happily went to play with the kids before school. 

Then back to N's school. We were supposed to meet on the Kindergarten playground. Apparently not without a white registration paper that was supposed to have been mailed to me though. I received no white paper. Off to the registration line. They didn't have it. They sent us to the office where the secretary (who has frequently lost and misplaced our paperwork before) said we were fine and our paperwork should be there. I told her it was not so she re-did it. Back to the Kindergarten playground. There was a line to get a bag for parents with a name tag for each child. I gave N his name tag and he was excited to have it. 

Then the teachers began calling for children to line up to take them over to the childcare center where they are meeting all this week to determine class groupings. That's when the crying began. Not from my child but from 5 little boys who were most unhappy about leaving their mommies. Not just crying but screaming sobbing hysterics. Those of you who know my spirited little boy know that he can not stand the sound of crying and it sets him off. Five children was just too much for him. He bolted from the playground and I had to go chase him down. I got him calmed down and explained about why these kids were crying. The teachers were trying to get parents to leave the kids with them there and go home. N was having no part of that due to the crying so I told him I would go along for a short time. One teacher told me that I needed to let go so that he could learn to be independent. Reason #568 why I hate this school. They finally accepted that some of the parents were going to accompany the children to the childcare center. Once in there, the crying from these 5 kids was magnified because now we were in this enclosed space. N demanded that I take him home "RIGHT NOW". I explained the situation to one of the teachers who really was urging me to get out ...politely...but the point was nonetheless that I was to leave. I gave N a final kiss and hoped for the best. 

I went back at lunchtime because that is when school lets out for Kindergarten. When I left this morning I was thoroughly unconvinced that the teachers were to be trusted with my child based on the interactions I had had that morning. I was worried he would not make it to childcare. N was waiting with the other children when I arrived. He was so happy to see me. He looked at me very seriously and said, "I didn't have any fun. I do not like it here. I want to go home." Great. I told him I just came to see how his first day went and that I did have to go back to work. I walked part of the way with him to the cafeteria with the childcare supervisor Miss MaryAnn. He said good bye and hung his head. Sigh....

Back to work. All I can think all afternoon is that this sucks and I want to go get my child. My mind is not on work. My brain is not focused on my classroom or students at all. This situation really is awful. I can't stand it. I hope that this is resolved very soon and N is at school with his sister. 

I went to pick up H first. She was in no rush as usual since she had her pals around and was having a grand time. Once she was pried away from her social scene, we headed home and then walked over to the childcare center to get N. When we get there Miss MaryAnn was incredibly sweet. The first bright spot in the day regarding N. She tells me that N and one little girl had been connected at the hip all day and played and played all afternoon. Both are in Kindergarten. A second bright spot. N said he made two friends today. He didn't know their names though. Miss MaryAnn also told me that I can drop N at the breakfast program in the morning since there is no before school childcare. A third bright spot. And a huge relief. 

So, all in all...H had a great day. She is off to a great start. She already brought me the permission slip to sign for her to participate in the practices for our city's annual parade coming up in a few weeks. Her school always has a float. This will be her third year to do that. She also had a permission slip to sign for her to audition for her school's winter play, The Nutcracker. She has already been practicing the lines and the song for the auditions all evening. N made it through the day in one piece and made two friends.

Maybe tomorrow will be better. I can hope.