The Start of Pre-Kindergarten

The boys started Pre-K a little over a week ago now. This is their very first time in any sort of school & aside from my sister watching them for us 2 or 3 times, it's the first they've really been away from us.

The first day was very emotional & maybe a bit traumatic for Donna. The boys were excited to get dressed & ready to go to school. They eagerly posed for pictures, cutting up for group photos & looking solemn for individual pics. Drop off started out pretty good, I forgot the boys school supplies in the car so ran back out to get them while Donna settled everyone in. When I returned Caden was sitting on the circle time rug, Kellan was standing on it being asked to sit & Garren was crying. I handed over the supplies & we attempted to make a swift exit. We got halfway to the front door when Garren came running out of the classroom screaming "DON'T LEAVE ME!!!" Donna grabbed him up & he clung to her so tightly it took both the teacher & teacher's assistant to peel him off. I cried when the teacher gave me a hug & Donna cried for probably a half hour after we left. The big mush!

Kellan, Garren & Caden

Kellan

Garren

Caden

Donna & I ran a couple errands & had breakfast while the boys were in school. We were back at the school by 11:45am anxious to hear how their first day was. Kellan cried when we walked back into the classroom, he had apparently been a little emotional through the morning. Garren & Caden were happy & super excited to see us & tell us about their day. Mrs Inez told us it took Garren about 5 minutes to calm down & then he was excited to join in the fun. Kellan apparently cried for the first half hour & had weepy moments throughout, he's such a sweet & sensitive guy it really didn't surprise me to hear.

Mrs Inez with Garren, Caden & Kellan

We had tears from all 3 of the boys at drop off on the second day, even some resistance going into the school but we got a great report at pick up saying the day was 100% better for Kellan & it took about 5 minutes for everyone to settle down & stop crying.

Friday, their third day was much of the same, crying at drop off, excitement at pick up & a good report. The boys were excited that it was the weekend & they didn't have to go to school saturday & sunday. I had high hopes for monday when Donna went back to work & I would have to wrangle 3 crying & resistant boys into the school by myself.

Monday morning arrived & I had tears & pleas to stay home from the time I got their clothes out for them to get dressed, They all cried all the way to school. Thankfully no one resisted or refused to go into the school but Caden did run from the classroom when we arrived at it, lol... Kellan was crying when I got Caden back to the classroom, Mrs Inez hugged both of them away from me & I made a run for it. I bawled like a baby when I got to the car. Absolutely nothing feels right about walking away from your crying children! At pick up Mrs Inez showed me that Kellan hardly made a mark on his coloring project that day which was odd because he has always been the one of the 3 that loves to color & draw the most. I did mention that he's been alternating hands more frequently lately & had been coloring less at home. She also mentioned that Garren went to the bathroom no less than 6 times that morning. She said both could just be nerves & not to worry for the first month, just give then time to get use to their new routine.

Tuesday was the same as far as drop off went, although I kept a firm grip on Caden to avoid another running incident. The boys were excited to see me when I picked them up & I got another report of Kellan not participating in his classwork.

Wednesday was repeat of tuesday, all 3 in tears at drop off, Kellan still not coloring or writing & Garren making frequent visits to the bathroom. I'll admit I really started stressing over Kellan not doing his classwork. All 3 are difficult when it comes to homework, they all want me to help them but not just sit & advise. They want me to hold their hand & help them write, which I'm sure is not what their teacher has in mind. They are being forced to do for themselves in school now, cleaning up after themselves, pulling their own pants back up, writing & doing work themselves & so on. I didn't realize just how much I was still doing for them.

We still had tears thursday but got an awesome report on everyone and Kellan decided to join in on the writing fun & actually wrote his name. Hooray!!! This was a huge burden lifted for me, I was seriously letting my head get carried away with worry. We celebrated after school with ice cream :)

I've noticed some interesting changes with the boys since they've started school. I don't find myself having to repeat things quite so much, they are following instructions much better. They actually sit at the table & eat their entire meal or snack with running back & forth and their attention spans are much better. They've picked up a few new phrases from school too. Kellan now says "that's so RUDE!" Caden has picked up "that's not fair" & Garren now says "you hurt my feelings." I'm still waiting for 'you're not my friend anymore' lol...

All of the things I worried the boys would struggle with in school have not been issues at all. They've had nothing but good reports as far as their behavior goes so far.They still have some trouble with being dropped off & Kellan has had another emotional day but they assure me the boys will adjust & will eventually quit crying every morning.