Preschool

*I began writing this post a month ago, but I'm glad that I never got around to posting it, because it has a much better ending than I ever imagined!

What I wrote on August 13th 2014:
Dallin got a letter in the mail the other day from preschool.  Usually he is excited about getting mail, but when he asked who it was from and I told him the preschool he said, "throw it away!"  After some coaxing he finally agreed to let me open the letter and read it to him.  When I was done he asked me where I had set the letter. He took it off the counter and told me, "I am going to throw this away and you are going to forget when preschool is and not take me there!"  I had to tackle him and hide the letter until I had time to fill out the paperwork and send it back.

To say that he is nervous about preschool is an understatement.  Dallin does not do well with new things.  They make him anxious...so much that he makes himself sick. I know he needs it though or it will only make full day kindergarten worse.  He had me second guessing myself the other day when he said to me "I wish there was pretend preschool."  When I questioned why he said, "Because then I could still go to preschool and not have to be scared.  I am scared about going to real preschool."  Hearing him express that concern made we want to snuggle right up to him and never let him go anywhere. Hopefully we will both survive this new phase of life.

Jacob got out his old preschool scrapbook one day this summer and showed him all the fun things he would do at preschool. 

Happy Ending:
The days leading up to the first day of preschool were mostly the same routine. One of us would mention something about preschool, to which he would respond matter of factly, "I'm not going!"  When we would tell him all the fun things he was going to get to do he would add, "Still, I'm not going!"  When we took the kids school clothes shopping, Dallin made sure to let us know he was getting clothes for home not school. :) The older kids' first day of school came and went but nothing sparked his interest in going to school himself.

When the big day finally arrived, it was exactly as I had expected.  He spent the morning clinging to me or snuggled up in my lap. After breakfast he got into the bathtub willingly, but I had to hold him down to get him dressed and threaten him to not to take his clothes off.  That was the breaking point for him. He knew he had no choice, and he lost it.  He sobbed and sobbed and cried so hard, it made me cry. I held him and tried to console him, but I didn't know what to say.  I was ready to throw in the towel. I contemplated calling my mom and asking for advice of what to do.  I prayed silently for an answer but nothing came....or so I thought.

I gave Dallin a tight squeeze and left him laying on the couch.  I wandered over to the computer and started Emi's volleyball video that has a fun song in the background. That stopped his crying almost immediately and he came over to watch it with me, When that was over, I clicked on one of his favorite songs "Gummy Bear" (it is super annoying, but he loves it).  He started giggling and dancing around to it.  He had me replay it a few more times so he could keep dancing, and I got up to fold some laundry. After about the 5th time through the song, he asked me, "Mom, do you think we could put this song on my Ipod and show it to my preschool teachers?"  I tried to keep my cool, and did a really good job considering that I don't usually know how to act calm and or cool in high pressure/stressful situations, and said "I'll have to see. Go get your Ipod."  He wanted a very specific version of the song, that I couldn't find so I nervously asked him if he wanted to put the song from Emi's video on his Ipod and show that to his teachers instead?  Thankfully he thought that was just as good!

My hands were shaking as I got it all downloaded.  Still not sure of  what this all meant or how things were going to go, I nonchalantly said, "You better go get your school shoes on!" Off he went to get them. He asked me to get some socks out for him.  When we got his socks and shoes on, he was ready to go....problem was, we still had about 25 minutes until it was time. I helped him get his backpack on and we took some pictures out front, and then we got the check ready to take.  The whole time I was in shock of what was happening. I had arranged for Kinlee to stay with Dolores while I took Dallin to school because I thought for sure I was going to have to drag him in the building or stay with him for a while to help calm him, so we dropped her off and then we were on our way.

The drive there was kind of funny.  He would clap and squeal, saying he was so excited for school.  Then I would catch him biting his fingernails and smacking his lips, which is what he does when he's nervous.  As we approached the last little stretch he told me, "Mom, you don't even need to come in with me. You can just drop me off at the front door!"  Other than a miracle, I don't know how you explain him going from scared and crying to not even needing me. We snapped a picture in front of the building, and then he walked in the doors like an old pro.  The teachers helped him find where to put his back pack.  He signed his name and answered the question of the day.  Then he was off to the circle room without so much as even a glance back to see where I was.  I said a silent goodbye and slipped out the door to have myself a good cry on the drive home. I cried because I had just dropped my baby off at school but also because I was so proud of him for being brave and doing something that was scary for him and thankful to my Heavenly Father for hearing and answering the prayer of a worried mom (and dad and brother & sister and grandmas & grandpas and aunts. so many people were aware of his struggles and prayed for him as well).

Everyday when I pick him up from school he tells me, "It was awesome!"  He is getting really good at writing his name and loves singing the songs and playing on the playground.  He had a little bit of a runny nose this morning so I suggested that maybe he stay home, but he was having none of that. He was ready to go back after his weekend break.

 1st day of Preschool September 9, 2014

(To celebrate his first day of school we went to Blimpies for lunch and an ice cream cone. We won't say which one he ate first.)

Funny things he's said:
On the first day of school when the teachers took him in the circle room, they told him he could get any toys out of the cupboard he wanted to play with. He thought that was pretty cool and said, "Are you serious?!"

When he went to use the bathroom at the preschool, the teachers heard him in there belly laughing so of course they went to see what was up. He peeked his head out and said, "This bathroom has a tiny toilet.  That toilet is for babies and I am a big boy!"

Out of the 32 kids enrolled at preschool, only 9 of them are boys, and there are only 3 (counting him ) in his actual class.  One day after school he asked, "Why are all my friends girl friends?" In a few years I think he will enjoy these odds. :)