New to School

Arnie had his first day of pre-school last week, and it was the beginning of an exciting new chapter for our family. Arnie has been home with us (including lots of time with his grandparents) for these first three years, but were excited for him to start a new chapter. It was time for him to get to know and interact with a whole new group of people and learn new things. We are looking forward to him exploring everything about school — new activities, people, and routines.

The start of school came at the perfect time, just after our last summer hoorah with our trip to Florida. We were able to come back to a (mostly) settled-in home, after a chaotic summer purchasing and remodeling it. We were happy to come back and settle into a new routine. So far, Arnie’s been going with the flow of things. He seems curious and interested to be there at his morning drop-offs. But, coming home he’s made a few comments to suggest he doesn’t like it. Something to the effect of “I hate school.” I laughed a little at that because it was a little out of character, and he doesn’t normally say hate (he just recently learned that word).

We were initially a little concerned and asked ourselves (and each other), “is he okay?” And, “did we choose the right school for him?” As parents you want to do what’s best for your child, and it’s normal to second guess your decisions when you feel like your kid is unhappy. We realized we were in a whole new territory of parenting, but we also had to remind ourselves that it was only the first week. He’s adjusting to an entirely new routine, with new people, and there are bound to be hiccups along the way.

This is the first of many “back-to-schools,” and he may not be as excited as we are about it. But, we are still very excited for him and looking forward to him growing, learning, and becoming more independent. We hope he grows to love it too. School is such a critical part of childhood, and we of course want him to enjoy his time there. Only time will tell!