So my baby goes to school now. After two years of dropping off and picking up his sissy at school it was finally his turn. The first morning went well. He seemed to understand that I was going to actually drop him off and leave. He went right in and played with the cars. I said goodbye and told him I was leaving and he nodded and I left. Easy. I called at about 1pm to check on him and they said he was doing great. After his nap, however, he woke up hysterical and cried, with heaving, for a long long time. I picked him up and he was desperate to get out of there.
The next day he cried and cried at drop off and they called an hour later saying he was totally fine and having a great day. He woke up from his nap and cried but wasn't as bad as the previous day.
The third day of school he started crying at breakfast and cried in the car. It was heart wrenching. I had to pry him off of me. They called after 10 minutes and said he was doing great. He woke up from his nap in the afternoon and was even better than the first two days.
All this weekend every time we got in the car he would say "No school!" He started crying when he saw pictures of himself at school on the computer and also when we passed the road that would take him to school. At least he's smart...
So, we're giving it some more time. He's only 2 so he certainly doesn't have to go school right now. He loves playing with other children and to tell you the truth-- I really need a break! 24/7 parenting with no break is not healthy for anyone. We rarely have babysitters here and the truth is that those three days he was in school I barely left the house. The things I want to do are at HOME. I unpacked from our last trip and got some things done from my summer list (like weeding out the kids' clothing drawers- finally!) and transitioning our mudroom from winter (there were still hats and scarves in there!) to summer. I took a little time for myself and got a much enjoyed pedicure. I weeded the garden; I went to a store BY MYSELF! I made a bunch of "business calls" that had been on my list forever-- like updating our credit card for our newspaper and Tivo service.
This deal is good for all of us because when my children were home this weekend I actually sat and read library books to them. Not just one book, but many books. For an hour at least. Just me sitting on the couch and them tucked in beside me. I played a game with Talia. I went outside with them and didn't spend every moment wishing I could go back inside and finish up whatever needed to be done.
I did consider sending Alex to school for mornings only; maybe that would be better for him. In my research I determined that once Kindergarten starts for Talia there would be no way to pick him up from school and give him a good nap before I would have to wake him up to get his sister from school. I guess I could have put him in mornings for the summer but Talia is there full days so it wouldn't make sense. Besides-- full day now or full day in three months doesn't seem to make much of a difference.
When T started school in Philadelphia she had the same issue-- crying with separation. It killed me but I stuck with it. In Philly, once you got a spot in daycare you TOOK that spot or got pushed to the bottom of the list so it was an easier decision. Talia *still* gives me crap about going to school so I guess that's just my family. I'll keep you all posted...
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