First Day of School

Jack started a little class at the rec center today. It's an hour and a half on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the next month. After the success of The Little Gym, I thought he would enjoy the classroom too.

When I was at the dentist last week, the hygienist asked me if he was excited about starting school. To which I responded, "Oh, I haven't even told him yet." It's better right now to not hype things up too much before they happen...or I'll be asked over and over when it's time to start school.

This morning though, when I finally started talking about school, he got very excited. He talked about school from breakfast until we left the house. He jabbered on and on about what he thought he would do there and if they would have the same things as The Little Gym and if they would play with little balls. When I got his backpack out to put his snack in, he was convinced that he needed to put a bunch of toys in there to take to school. He asked if he was going to go on the bus, but then said that he knew he had to be a bigger boy to go on the bus. He was so confident about what he thought school was all about.

But then, he also thought this would be a good way to show up on his first day:

I dropped him off with very little fanfare. The teacher got out some blocks and he started playing and barely looked up at me as we left. Casey and I headed to the gym where they missed Jack being there with Casey. When we went to pick him up, he told me that he wanted to stay longer. And...he got homework! I knew they said it started early, but 3 year old homework??? Actually, I'm looking forward to getting a box and going around with him tomorrow to find things that start with the letter "b."

On Thursday, Casey & I have a toddler gym class while Jack is in school. I'm looking forward to that time with Casey.

I'm not sure if I'm downplaying this big day for Jack (and me) or not. I mean, I didn't even think about his first day of school clothes until this morning! I guess I didn't think it was a huge deal since it's not really a preschool...just a rec center program. But, it really was the first classroom experience for him and I dropped him off like any other preschool. This was the day where I hoped that the manners that I taught him (read - repeated over and over and over) made him a pleasant, courteous little boy in class. The teacher said he did great and I guess that is the validation that I needed. That and the fact that he really liked his class. Other than that, I don't really know what he did for an hour and a half but all that matters what that he enjoyed it.

The first day of school pictures aren't that great because he only wanted to say "Cheese!" if he was wearing a crown. But he was pretty serious about putting his backpack on...and then hiding when I tried to take a good shot.