PRESCHOOL!

This week Gwen started preschool! It is a weird thing to have only 1 kid for half the day and to get up so early to take Gwen to school. But here we are with a preschooler! It has been a long week for us. The festivities started Saturday, Eric and I went to a child protection class where we learned how to notice the signs of abusive situations and considered what we should do if we suspected something. It was interesting and informative! Then we went to Mass followed by a Ice Cream social where we were supposed to meet some of the other new families at the school. We met 1 or 2. The next day we had the "meet the teacher" where we meet Gwen's teachers and got our packets of information, had pictures made and you know took pictures. Wednesday morning I had oreintation with the other parents of the preschool kids. We learned the drop off procedures and things about the class and signed up for when we wanted to volunteer. It was a busy morning!
Thurday was the big day, Gwen's first day of preschool. I was a little nervous she wouldn't get out of the car. She had been acting nervous and we were worried she would not get out of the car. But she did! The school doesn't use buses so they have drop off procedures. The eighth graders help with the drop off-you pull up to the stop sign and then everyone from the stop sign to the cone (about 10 cars) lets their kids out. Fortunately Gwen's teacher was outside (she told us she would be so they would see a familiar face) and I waved her down and she came and got Gwen. Fortunately the teacher has been doing this for a long time, she grabbed Gwen's backpack and just said some stuff like, "what do you have in here? I bet something special?" reached for Gwen's hand and out she went! All the kids meet in the school hall for prayers, but the preK kids go to a different room off the hall because apparently it gets overwhelming waiting with all the big kids. One of the eighth graders walks the preK kids into the little room with toys. When it is prayer time they come out and then go to their room and start their day. And I think that is all we know except for the schedule they gave us. We do also know that at the end of their day they come back outside and wait on the benches patiently for the parents to come get them. Here are the pictures from the first day! I should mention Mom and I were both taking pictures so some of them are repeats, or almost the same...

I was a little sad I couldn't go in with Gwen and take those cute first day pictures of her with her teachers and her desk. But we did take pictures at the meet the teacher...I think we got a picture of her with everything with her name on it! After the meet the teacher we went to dinner, both the kids wanted to sit next to Grandma!