…was ok. Not great, not tragic, just ok. We got off to an inauspicious enough start: Simon woke up at about 6:20 this morning. That’s a good hour earlier than his usual early waking time and more like an hour and a half earlier than his standard one. Meaning that today, a day we all asked him to accept a huge change in his schedule, physical surroundings, and care-takers and peers, he started off tired.
At 8:45 or so we walked through the doors of Keneseth Israel expecting to see pure bedlam. Instead, we were greeted by the school’s director, who was standing by the door and saying hello to everyone. Simon was in high spirits as we headed for the Itsy Bitsy room, a place he’d already explored twice this week. His look turned to puzzlement once we got to the room, however, as this time about seven other kids and six adults were in the room. You could almost see him thinking, “Who are all these people, and what are they doing in my secret play hideaway?”
Right away, Matt and I could spot the kids who had been in day-care before, as four of them were seated around a table having a kids-only tea party. Certainly these kids had been in a similar situation before, right?
Simon, bless his heart, barely made it inside the room. He spotted a hot-wheels toy just inside the door, sat down, and began to play with a near obsessive compulsive focus. The head teacher Lana came over to play with him, and the two of them seemed to hit it off just fine.
While he settled in, I went to hang his diaper bag on the hook at the back. And that’s when I discovered my own rookie error: Simon was the only kid without his own backpack! It was listed on the supply list, but I assumed that was for older kids only. Surely little not-quite-two-year-olds weren’t hauling their own gear! Except they were. Or, as one of the teachers explained to me, “Some of the really independent kids love carrying their own bags, and the others just like seeing that they have their own.”
Poor Simon. His old and out-of-touch parents made him look immature in front of his peers. Looks like I have some shopping to do! I found some pretty cool Dante Beatrix bags online, and now have only to decide if I’m getting the penguin one that matches his stroller’s color scheme or the green dinosaur one that made him say “dino” when I showed it to him.
At 11:50, I arrived at KIP to pick Simon up. This time it was bedlam, as all the teachers had all the kids lined up in the hallway. It didn’t take long for me to spot Simon, standing beside one of his (six!) teachers, clutching a plastic car for dear life, and crying. I didn’t get the full story because it was hard to hear over the noise, but it sounded like Simon was fine until it was time to leave his precious cars. He played a bit outside and ate part of the cereal bar they offered as a snack, but had a hard time making the transitions between activities, may have a hard time during some of the day’s activities, and absolutely melted down in the chaos of the hall.
I’d normally be bullish that tomorrow will go better, but since his last impression wasn’t favorable, I’m not so sure. I think much will depend on whether he gets his full 11-hour component of beauty sleep. Then I just have to decide if I’m better off staying with him for a bit tomorrow, or if I should clear out quickly and let the professionals do their thing.