There They Go!

This past week William started his Fall semester of preschool. He was so excited that he jumped out of bed at 6:00am (which is over an hour earlier than he normally rises for the day). He has attended this preschool for the past two years and has had a very positive experience. He has never been without his big brother though, so this "first day" was a little different for him. Upon arriving, he seemed to know just what to do. He took off his raincoat and hung it up, he put his lunch on the shelf and then ran straight to the library corner. All the other children fell into two groups, they were either clinging to their mothers or happily playing with each other. William seemed interested in neither. He gazed lovingly at the book shelf, ran his hands over a few books while commenting quietly to himself about the cover pictures, then finally chose a book and plopped down to read with a quite contented look on his face. He did glance away from his book long enough to give me a quick goodbye smile.


When I picked him up, he was sitting by his good buddy, Sid, eating a snack. While Sid ran over to say hi to me and fill me in on his day, I watched William quietly eat the rest of Sid's snack. Of course when Sid got back to the table he loudly demanded to know where his snack went. In the confusion that followed, William grabbed my hand and started to pull me from the room saying "C'mon Mommy, I gotta show you somethin' quick out here!" I never said anything, and neither did he. I'll give Sid a few extra crackers the next time he's over.

Aaron also increased his independence this week. He decided that he was ready to walk into school all by himself. For the first two weeks, I would park the van over a block away and William and I would walk in with him to his class. Earlier in the week as we were walking in, he observed a fellow kindergartner hop out of a car and walk in by himself. The next morning he decided to try it for himself. While it's always bittersweet to watch the back of my child as he walks away, I'm happy that he's comfortable enough to take independent steps, and I love seeing his pleased and proud face.

Another mother snapped this shot of Aaron and his good friend Abigail on the first day of school. The two of them were friends in preschool and both were thrilled to find each other in the same kindergarten class. Aaron says that he doesn't play with Abigail as much at recess, but he always lays next to her during rest time.