Sean's First Day of School

Even as I write the title to this post, I can scarcely believe our baby is off to pre-school today.  When did this happen?  When did he learn how to talk to other children and other adults himself, and go potty, and choose his own toys, and eat lunch by himself?!  Not only is this a milestone of his growth thus far though, today marks the first day that he will be learning something other than what Cody and I have taught him.  I keep thinking about that and it definitely pulls on my separation-anxiety heartstrings a little bit.  One day (maybe today!) he will come home and know something we did not teach him.  Someone else will impart knowledge and wisdom to him, from today until he's done with school, maybe 20 years from now.

I think I had more nervous excitement than Sean did today-- I actually got up when our alarm went off (or very soon afterwards), and had a whole to-do list for the morning that was done 20 minutes before we had to leave for school!  I was trying not to make him nervous, and he seemed to be genuinely excited.  We practiced saying "Goodbye, I love you" in the car on the way there, and I packed a little picture of our family in his backpack just in case he wanted to look at it.  Drop off when really well, and now Jamesie is snoozing in his crib as I enjoy another cup of coffee in a very quiet home this morning. 

Sean really wanted to hold the flag for his picture.

Just to give some perspective to how I feel today, here are Sean and I on the same porch steps just a few months ago.  Oh wow, I mean 4 years ago. 

Cody had to be in court at 9:00 this morning, and school drop off is at 8:45.  Last night he kept trying to figure out a way to be there at drop off and still make it to court on time (including a trip to his office to get his files).  It just wasn't going to happen.  But, other mornings Cody will definitely get his turn, plus he will be able to pick up a few afternoons after lunch on his way to the jail.

Sean's pre-school is at an Anglican/Episcopal church downtown.  The parish is very close to Roman Catholicism in its liturgy and beliefs, and the parish as a whole has many Catholic charisms and traditions.  We felt very much at home during our visits. 

The pre-school is a Montessori program, which I have been reading up on the last few days, and very much believe in.  My niece Eva finished her sixth grade at a Montessori school, and my mom has always advocated the philosophy.  As part of this Montessori program the school does Catechesis of the Good Shepard, which is a Montessori-based religious education.  We had good friends participate (and teach) this program when we were in South Bend, and the results seem phenomenal, so we are very excited about Sean having this opportunity.  Even though it is a great program, they seem to be scarce around the country, so we were extatic when we found one here!

The other children in Sean's class came to the door to greet him this morning.  I think this went a long way in actually getting him in the door.  I have read that the Montessori program puts great emphasis on being caring toward the other children in one's class, and I definitely felt that today.  The director of the preschool had to give me a little talk last week about being able to say goodbye, then leave.  do not go in the classroom.  I did it today, and I have to say I did very well, despite wanting to run in their with him and play with him.  Jamesie and I just turned around and scooted out of there, leaving Sean to work and learn on his own!  Incidentally, Jamesie got very mad when we left because he wanted to stay and play with the children.  He put up a little stink when he caught on that we were leaving.