First Day of Pre-K 3 {Riley}

As many of you already know, last Friday was Riley’s first day of school. Ever. Before I get into the minute details, let me first just say that he did great. I think (and hope) that he’s really going to like school.

I asked him the night before what he wanted for breakfast on Friday morning. He requested blueberry biscuits and green grapes, so that’s what we did. Kenny and I also gave him a special first-day-of-school book, Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes, which we read while the biscuits were baking. Because it’s all good.

Riley didn’t have to be at school until 11am, so our morning wasn’t too rushed. (That won’t happen until today. Fingers crossed I get him there on time and don’t accidentally leave Rory at home by himself.) Kenny decided he wanted to do drop off with me, so we tag-teamed the two kids and got ourselves ready for the day as well.

Rory took a decent first nap on Friday but woke up before I could accomplish my photo shoot with Riley. So Kenny held the little one while encouraging the big one to smile for me. (Really glad he ended up staying home.) I got some great shots, even though Riley was a bit of a pill. Despite the promise of gummies afterwards.

 

I had Riley stand in three locations for pictures: on the front porch (with the bright sun in his eyes), in the corner of the garden in front of the big kitchen window, and in front of the brick wall along the driveway. I also made him a special sign to hold up. I looked around on Pinterest for options but ended up creating my own with PicMonkey. It turned out pretty cute, right?

 

Photo shoot complete, we packed up (Kenny had to go back in three times for things I forgot but at least we hadn’t backed out of the driveway yet) and headed over to Nola and Nopsi’s, who had agreed to watch Rory. Both of them came out to wish the new student a good first day, and then we were off to school.

I must mention that for most of the morning, including the car ride, Riley stated multiple times that he didn’t want to go to school. Great. Kenny and I just responded positively with things like “it’s going to be so much fun!” and “you’re going to have a great time!” and “you’re going to get to do so many cool things and meet new friends!” Inside, though, I was starting to get really nervous.

When we arrived at school, Riley held Kenny’s hand as we walked up the ramp into the lobby, where we were greeted with a mass of other parents and kids who were all waiting to be released to their classrooms. We saw Steve, Kelli, and Jack, so we hung out with them until we were given the go-ahead.

We walked back to the Pre-K 3 building, went inside and found Riley’s classroom, and introduced him to his teacher. Riley was even thoughtful enough to bring Ms. Amanda a special first-day gift: cookies!

 

Kenny and I didn’t linger; we wanted Riley to get comfortable being at school without us. But I did get a picture with my big, grown-up, preschooler boy before we left. He seemed very at ease in his classroom, once we found the square on the rug with a truck in it. So my earlier worries lessened and I crossed my fingers he would have a good day.

When I went back an hour and a half later to pick Riley up, he was excited to see me, but it was obvious he had had a good time. He drew a picture (in green, of course), and when I asked him what it was, he emphatically said, “A maze!” Riley also showed me a little treat he got from Ms. Amanda: a bag of goldfish, since he’s o-FISH-ally in preschool. So cute; gotta love Pinterest.

 

He also told me he played with a gray Lego truck, Ms. Amanda told them they needed to be quiet and listen when she put her finger to her lips, and he talked to a little girl who sat next to him but she wasn’t his cousin (?). I can’t wait for all of the stories he’s going to come home with.

And he said that Ms. Amanda read them a story, The Kissing Hand. Ironic, because Nola bought the very same book for Riley and me to read the night before his first day. It’s a very sweet story, perfect for a little big kid who’s starting something new and scary.

Kelli picked up Jack at the same time (the boys unfortunately are not in the same class, but they will do lots of things together throughout the year), so we decided to treat them to lunch at Cane’s. They are officially preschoolers!

So Riley’s first day of preschool was a success. He started off not wanting to go at all and ended up asking if he could go back later that afternoon.

I’m sure some of those things will change come the school year’s end, but I hope this smile stays the same.

With out without the gummies bribe.