Learning The Hard Way

That post I wrote last week about Luke's first day of school. The final sentence about how he's going to have a lot of skinned knees and chins in his future. Well to be honest I just got done writing that. I didn't get the chance to write about Luke's first day until now. What prompted me to get done with that post is to get writing on this one. After Mom picked Luke up from school today she sent me the picture below. Luke had his first skinned chin.

By the picture it looks kind of gruesome and talking to Mom tonight it is. Whenever it happened at school the trauma must have passed because he was all smiles by the time Mom picked him up. You would figure he'd learn his lesson and not try and run faster than his feet would allow. You would be wrong. While waiting for the bus today Luke wouldn't sit still or slow down. Between running outside and in the house I've come to the conclusion that Luke has two speeds, run and stop. With stop only occurring when he's asleep. All that energy he is releasing is tiring us out.

When I arrived home from work tonight Mom handed me Luke's log book and opened it to today. The log book is a pretty neat idea. The teacher writes notes in it every day explaining what happened that day in class, what books they read, and any other pertinent information. I think it's a pretty neat idea. Stapled to the log for today is the incident report for Luke's injury. It reads as follows. "Your child, Luke, received First Aid today for a cut / bruise on this chin & lip. It happened on our walk / run on the track. Two friends bumped into each other and fell." The Nurse's comments are what really sells the report. "We checked inside Luke's mouth as best we could. He didn't cry or fuss - just got up and kept running."

No time for crying when it's play time. Half of me is proud of the little guy. The other half wishes he'd learn a little self preservation. Mom and I are wondering how many of these injury reports we are going to have stapled by to his log book by the end of the year. I don't think it's going to stop at one.

First Day of Preschool

Today was Luke's first day of preschool. It couldn't have come soon enough. Both he and his sister have been bouncing off the walls for days. Luke is in afternoon preschool. Luckily we chose the right session of school. We had the option to choose either morning or afternoon. We wanted his times to coincide with Alyce's so that Mom could get some time off. With Alyce and kindergarten you are are the mercy of the district for which session you are assigned. With Alyce getting afternoons too everything works out and Mom gets almost three hours to herself!

I stayed home from work today because I couldn't miss such a big event in my children's lives. Mom got the kids up and ready for school. They were fed lunch early because they'll be in school during their normal eating times. Before we left we had to get those traditional first day of school pictures! There is one hitch with the kids going to school. Due to close start times Alyce can't ride the bus to school except for Fridays. I don't think she minds much as she gets to say goodbye to Luke.

We dropped off Luke before Alyce. For the first day of school we were to drop him off in his class. On subsequent days the teacher or teacher's assistant will pull the kids out of the car letting Mom drop off in without having to park, how convenient. Luke's class is pretty neat looking. It is near the front of school which is nice as Alyce's class last year was in the basement. Everything was going just fine, I was thinking we were going to have an easy separation. I was wrong. As we were saying goodbye and walking out the door Luke grabbed hold of my leg for dear life and wouldn't let go. Couple that will cries for "Daddy" and it would make just about anyone cry. I eventually had to peel him off my leg and walk away. It was the right thing to do but it doesn't make it any easier.

After school was over Mom and I went and picked Luke up. If the trauma from earlier left any scars they weren't showing. Luke was happy as a clam. When we asked him if he had fun at school he said "yes"!

Luke made a new friend today too. Not at school though. While at the bus stop waiting for Alyce to get home Luke was playing with a neighbor girl called Sophie. She is the little sister of one of Alyce's new friends Ellie. Luke and Sophie laughed, played, and ran all around the yard. We keep telling Luke to walk or if he is to run to do it on the grass. But he won't listen. I have a feeling he's going to have to learn the hard way. With lots of skinned knees and chins in his future.

Luke Now Likes School

Over a month ago when we left Luke at school he'd shed a lot of tears as we left. Since then Luke's attitude towards school has changed. This week at school when Mom was dropping him off Luke was already playing with toys. As Mom was leaving Luke came up to Mom asked for and received a hug and kiss then went right back to playing with his toys. After school back at the house Luke said to Mom "I like school". It took a little bit but I knew Luke would like school. He just needed to spread his wings and leave the nest.

First Day of School

Yesterday Luke attended his first day of school. I guess officially it wasn't school. Instead he attended a Mom's day out / kid's day out program at a church near our house. We did the same thing with Alyce when she was roughly Luke's age. We wanted Luke to get all the benefits from social interaction as Alyce did from her class.

It seems kind of weird to Mom and I that Luke is going to kid's day out already. Going this year means that he is going to be attending preschool next year and that just seems too soon. I think we are looking at Luke through Alyce colored glasses. When Alyce first attended school she was just a month away from turning 3. Luke on the other hand still has 7 months until he is 3.  And to a kid only 2 years old 7 months is a quarter of your life; a decent chunk.

Before we left the house to take him to school Mom snapped a few pictures of his first day outfit and lunch bag. He doesn't get a back pack yet but he is there from 9:00 - 1:00 so Mom packs a lunch for him. We picked up a Thomas the Tank Engine lunch bag and seems to be smitten with it.

When we arrived at the school we were one of the first people there. A lady with her child went in right in front of us. Lucky for us she did because you have to enter a code just to get in the front door and we didn't have the updated one. I'm glad they take security seriously. The weather was great so the class started outside. Luke immediately ran away from us and started playing on all of the playground equipment. Mom talked to the caretakers for a bit and eventually Luke came back over to us. He was driving a Cozy Coupe as we were leaving and Mom gave him a kiss on the head good bye. As we exited the area Luke started to follow us as he just realized that were leaving without him. The teachers sprang into action and scooped him up. They did their best to distract him and I didn't see him flip out or start screaming for us.

I left soon thereafter while Mom needed to pay for the class. On her way out she looked in on Luke and sure enough he was crying. It was to be expected but that didn't make it any easier on Mom. Separating from your kid is never easy and it shouldn't be. You are breaking a bond that was being constructed for the past two years.

Once class was over Mom got the scoop about Luke's first day. There were some tears but they slowed down and stopped during the day. He played a lot and made some artwork. The picture he brought home was of an apple he made out of construction paper and glue. It's now hanging from our refrigerator. That evening when I was home I took it off and admired it. I asked Luke if he made this and he said "yes" while beaming with pride.

This will be a good experience for Luke. It's bound to have a rocky start. In the end it will be all worth it. It'll be good for Mom too. She's transitioning to a life where the kids won't be home in the morning and eventually the whole day.