Sunday, September 1, 2013

T Takes on Kindergarten

Congrats to Trenton on a successful first week of kindergarten! We're so proud of him!

We'd been talking about kindergarten all summer, but it wasn't until the night before that he admitted any apprehension. I was helping him put on pajamas, and I said something along the lines of, "And tomorrow's Trenton's first day of kindergarten!"

In a silly voice (maybe to mask or downplay his nervousness), he answered: "But I wish it was my first day of preschool, because that wouldn't be scary."

The next morning, before we got dressed, he cuddled my shoulder and said he was "a little shy."

But he walked confidently into the school with his Daddy, while Chase, Quinn, and I trailed behind (I wasn't going to miss this!). He wanted Ryan to stay in the classroom right next to him for the first few minutes, and he asked a few questions that showed how he was trying to process it all. "Do I have to take the bus home?" "What if I have to go to the bathroom?" Etc.

His teacher, Ms. Ellis, helped engage him, and after a few minutes, Ryan told Trenton he was going to go, and T handled it perfectly. Good job, sweetheart!





When Trenton was nervous in the classroom, Ryan had promised him that he'd be the first parent outside the classroom when it was time to go. So Ryan emailed work and said he'd be working from home that morning, and we were the first parents there waiting after school. T's face lit up so much when he saw Ryan. 

He immediately told us with so much pride that he made "one friend!" And in the days since, he's now up to "five friends!" 

My heart still feels a little heavy sending him off to school every day. I wish I could be there to see who he's talking to and to help him find his name on the rug. But I know it's time, and I'm glad for him to have the chance to grow and spread his little wings. (How appropriate that the shirt he chose for the first day of school had a wing on it!) 

We love you, Trenton! (Please quit growing so fast!)