Gents,
good to see everyone getting back into this. For my part, here's a report on the boy's first day of school.
They had an open house at the elementary school on a Friday. I expected Taliesin to be a little apprehensive about the whole thing but to our surprise he liked it a whole lot. There were three or four other families there at the same time as us and he enjoyed looking around and checking everything out in his future classroom. "Hey, this is going smooth I think to myself."
Monday was a parents' orientation thing. Just a little one hour meeting for the teacher to go over stuff with us. Theresa couldn't make this one since she was working so I took Taliesin myself. No problem - again he's looking around the room checking out all the different stuff that they have. "Okay," says the teacher's aide "all the kids can come with me now." The boy was not amused. The boy does not want to go. The boy was lead off down the hall in tears. "Hmm, not so smooth."
No school on Tuesday which gives us time to talk to a very nervous boy about how much fun he'll have. "No Dad" he says "I'm sad about school." Mommy tells him about the new friends he'll make. "No I won't" he says. Daddy reminds him of the last school (Florida has a Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten program) where he was nervous at first but then he made friends. "No." The boy's mind is made up.
So on the first day I bring him into the classroom since we have all the extra supplies to start off the year. Some of the other kids are there sitting in a little circle. Taliesin is doing his best to hide behind me. I give the teacher the stuff, tell him to have fun, that I love him and I'll see him soon. Then I head for the door, kind of like pulling a band-aid off really fast instead of drawing it out. Of course, I look back and catch a glimpse of that incredibly sad face. Luckily he wasn't crying but it was a pretty close thing.
So I spend all day fretting and worrying about how he's doing. Theresa and I trade emails back and forth "how do you think he is?" yadda yadda. I get to the school 20 minutes early to pick him. They bring him out to the car and he says "Daddy, I made a new friend!" Details were sketchy since he referred to a "Laura" and "the purple one." I did manage to clarify that purple refers to the color of her shirt and not her skin.
For me - I started a part time job at a local shopper type newspaper. Very boring work but money was very tight and you got to put the food on the table. I had an interview this past Tuesday for full time work at Mitchell Gold furniture company. Very progressive place and I would absolutely love to work there. Any prayers/good thoughts/ shout-outs on the subject would be greatly appreciated. All of their marketing honchos are heading out for some big trade show so I won't hear anything about that for at least two weeks. As Mr. Petty so eloquently stated "the waiting is the hardest part."
Oh, and I got a haircut. No more ponytail. It was just bugging the heck out of me lately. I got a short 'do with a little spiky action going on. I'll post a picture of that when I get a good one.
Take care,
Mark
good to see everyone getting back into this. For my part, here's a report on the boy's first day of school.
They had an open house at the elementary school on a Friday. I expected Taliesin to be a little apprehensive about the whole thing but to our surprise he liked it a whole lot. There were three or four other families there at the same time as us and he enjoyed looking around and checking everything out in his future classroom. "Hey, this is going smooth I think to myself."
Monday was a parents' orientation thing. Just a little one hour meeting for the teacher to go over stuff with us. Theresa couldn't make this one since she was working so I took Taliesin myself. No problem - again he's looking around the room checking out all the different stuff that they have. "Okay," says the teacher's aide "all the kids can come with me now." The boy was not amused. The boy does not want to go. The boy was lead off down the hall in tears. "Hmm, not so smooth."
No school on Tuesday which gives us time to talk to a very nervous boy about how much fun he'll have. "No Dad" he says "I'm sad about school." Mommy tells him about the new friends he'll make. "No I won't" he says. Daddy reminds him of the last school (Florida has a Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten program) where he was nervous at first but then he made friends. "No." The boy's mind is made up.
So on the first day I bring him into the classroom since we have all the extra supplies to start off the year. Some of the other kids are there sitting in a little circle. Taliesin is doing his best to hide behind me. I give the teacher the stuff, tell him to have fun, that I love him and I'll see him soon. Then I head for the door, kind of like pulling a band-aid off really fast instead of drawing it out. Of course, I look back and catch a glimpse of that incredibly sad face. Luckily he wasn't crying but it was a pretty close thing.
So I spend all day fretting and worrying about how he's doing. Theresa and I trade emails back and forth "how do you think he is?" yadda yadda. I get to the school 20 minutes early to pick him. They bring him out to the car and he says "Daddy, I made a new friend!" Details were sketchy since he referred to a "Laura" and "the purple one." I did manage to clarify that purple refers to the color of her shirt and not her skin.
For me - I started a part time job at a local shopper type newspaper. Very boring work but money was very tight and you got to put the food on the table. I had an interview this past Tuesday for full time work at Mitchell Gold furniture company. Very progressive place and I would absolutely love to work there. Any prayers/good thoughts/ shout-outs on the subject would be greatly appreciated. All of their marketing honchos are heading out for some big trade show so I won't hear anything about that for at least two weeks. As Mr. Petty so eloquently stated "the waiting is the hardest part."
Oh, and I got a haircut. No more ponytail. It was just bugging the heck out of me lately. I got a short 'do with a little spiky action going on. I'll post a picture of that when I get a good one.
Take care,
Mark
3 comments:
Awesome. I am sure by Taliesin will not want to leave school which it sound like is already happening. I think my kids all did the same sort of thing. Taliesin is a handsome boy. Hang in there with the job search for He has a plan! I think I am in that mid life crisis time where you wonder "Am i really doing what I want to with my life?" So many responsibilities though. Keep the faith. RELAX
MArk, you are not the first to beat down this path. My girl Emma did the exact same thing - would not let go of Michelle's leg on the first day of K-garten. Would not let go on the second and third day as well. It took a full week for Emma to be comfortable at school. At the time, our kindergarten was only a 1/2 day too! It does seem like you are toturing the child but the separation adjustment is a part of it all. Although we would like to, we can't just put them in a jar and keep them at 5 yrs old forever. My littlest one is about to turn 8 and I really really really want to just stuff her away so she never grows up - but she has plans of her own, places to go and people to go play with. She is ofen consoling me to not fret too much about hwo fast she is growing up....But I recall very well how you feel right now. I remember when Spence went to Kindergarten 2 weeks after we moved into this house in Freeport - it was a huge step. Lots of tears, lots of second guesses, lots of "oh, did I do the right thing?" Hang in there - trust your own judgement, and watch the boy blossom in his new world.
Alright Fresca, let's be honest! K-garten sucks! No more morning cartoons and playing in the sunshine of the new day's sunrise. It' eat, dress and out the door. Like or not. It pretty much goes on that way for the next 75+ years or more.
The only good thing about school was the friends I made. Period. And just think, I met JP my first day at Verot. I met Bear about a week later and I think I met you Fresca within 10 days.
School stinks. Friends rule.
Peace out! Buddies for life!
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