Open House Day

Yesterday, I left Rerun with his very first babysitter (Grandma!), along with a bottle and his big sister, and I took Tad with me to his new elementary school.  The Webmaster met us there, and we went to go meet Tad’s new teacher for next year at the contained learning center kindergarten.

Tad was definitely apprehensive – I’d even go so far as to say he was a little fearful.  He was clutching both my hand and the Webmaster’s as we walked into the main building and signed in at the office.  The Webmaster tried to set him at ease by pointing out the school mascot.  “Dolphins!” Tad exclaimed.

Still, he was completely unnerved as we walked into his new classroom and met his new teacher, Mrs. W.  The Webmaster and I had met her oh-so-briefly before, at the kindergarten transition meeting at Tad’s preschool last January, but that was before we knew Tad would be in her class.  We introduced ourselves and Tad, and then set out to explore the classroom, Tad still clutching at my hand, afraid of being left there by himself.  After looking at the bins of toys, we found the reading nook – complete with cushioned window seats.  Tad picked up an Eric Carle illustrated book on animals, and – naturally – found the one and only shark picture in the entire book.  Which he then showed his new teacher.  “He likes sharks,” I told her – which is probably the understatement of the year.

The Webmaster and I also met the vice-principal, one of the physical therapists, and the school nurse.  Tad was a more subdued than usual, thanks to the strange environment and having just woken up from a power nap in the car, and his apprehension made him unusually responsive and well-behaved.  The open house was very sparsely attended – just two other kids with their families – so Tad’s new teacher took us on a quick tour of all the areas her class uses – including the swimming pool.  Oh, yes.  As part of the CLC-K, Tad’s class goes to the pool once a week.  Tad will be keeping swim trunks at school.  He was really excited about the pool.

As we finished up our tour and thanked his new teacher (who will be teaching summer school through July, and invited us to stop by again to get Tad used to the building and the new class), we stopped outside at the smaller playground that the kindergarten through second grades use (they are all at one end of the building, and the third through sixth grades are at the other end – this is an astoundingly large campus for a elementary school, thanks to the extensive facilities that they have, like the pool).  As Tad checked out his new playground, I looked to at the Webmaster.  “I have a good feeling about this next year.  It’s going to be intense, but I like what I see.”

He agreed with me.

As much as I’m going to miss Tad’s preschool terribly, and his teachers and speech therapist, who have all come to love him, he needs a change of pace.  He needs this new class.  He needs to live up to a new set of expectations.  And I am so grateful that this program, and this class, exist to give him that.

My boy is growing up.  I think I’d better let him.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 at 2:08 am and is filed under Children, School Days, Speech Therapy Saga.
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