Miles' First Day of Preschool

After seeing his brother go off to school each morning for the last couple of years, Miles seemed excited about starting school last week. He's in the same early preschool classroom at the Montessori school that G attends, going three morning each week this fall. He had his older brother to give him pointers, such as: "Listen to the teachers, Miles," and "Put your work away when you're done." When we got to school, Miles knew just where to go and how to put his backpack away and find his name tag before entering the classroom.

But when it came time to leave him at the classroom door, Miles cried hysterically--and apparently continued to cry for much of the morning. Even visiting G in his classroom next door didn't help console him. He was red-eyed and sniffling when I picked him up. 

So...we'll try again this week and hope that he just needs a few days, like G, to get used to school.

First Day of Preschool: G

Let's not sugarcoat this: G was pretty grumpy about going back to school earlier this week. Even though he was returning to the same classroom with his same beloved teachers and friends, he asserted that he was not excited and did not want to go back to school.

When we arrived at school on Monday, he clutched my hand and his eyes filled with tears as we entered the building. And for the first time in three years of taking him to the same school, he cried when I left -- heartbreaking!

Poor G

But his teachers assured us that he was fine within minutes of my leaving. They said he quickly rediscovered favorite puzzles and other classroom work. At the end of the day, he was excited to show us his drawings and tell us about new friends. He was especially proud to discover new skills that he couldn't quite master last year, like punching out shapes and using scissors. 

He's also one of the bigger boys in his classroom of 3- to 6-year-olds this year, which means he gets to boss the little guys around. I mean, he gets to be a leader and teach them new skills.

Later this week, he'll have to show his brother the ropes. Miles will be in the classroom next door.

What G Wants to Be When He Grows Up

Toward the end of the school year, G came home with a yearbook from his preschool. Below each child's picture was an answer to the question: What do you want to be when you grow up? Popular responses included firefighter, doctor and princess. Grant's response?

A bear. Yep, that's our G.

Also, isn't this so much better than last year's picture?

School Picture

G, early preschool

Kent and I laughed out loud when this picture came home from school with G. The photographer captured his scowl so well, don't you think?