Friday was another milestone for our family....Vivien's first day of school. We enrolled her at a Mother's Day Out program at Hunters' Glen Baptist Church here in Plano. She will go Wed. & Fri. until May. So Friday was her first day. I was so glad they had an open spot for her, because she really needs something like this.
There are 4 other children in her class, and 2 teachers. There is only one boy in the class (poor guy!) Her class is named the Rainbow Fish.
I took her to check out the place on Tuesday afternoon after the kids were all gone, and I talked to the director for a while. Then we went back Wed. morning to meet her teachers and see how the class goes. We stayed there about an hour. We went to music with them (they go each time), had a treat for V-Day, and went to playtime. Vivien had fun playing with the kids, as long as she knew I was right there.
So on Friday, I went to get her out of bed while chanting, "First Day of School!" like Nemo does so that she would get excited. When she saw me packing up things, she told me she wanted to stay here. I was pretty nervous that it was going to be a rough transition. On the way there, she watched an episode of Blues Clues in which one of the characters starts school.
When we got there, she walked into the building like all of the other children. But when we got to her classroom, and I started putting her stuff down, she realized what was happening. She started crying and screaming. They had a little place with her name on it for me to put her backpack, and a big welcome sign outside of the door that said "Welcome Vivien". The teacher got her from me and told me to bolt. I had told her when we had visited on Wed., that I would probably need encouragement to get out of there because I would feel so bad.
I went down to the office to finalize paperwork and I was in tears. I told the asst. director that I needed to collect myself. I felt so silly. After we were done with that, I went to the car and just sobbed. I knew Vivien was probably already playing and not thinking of me, but boy did I feel sad! I didn't sleep for 2 nights worrying about this. Plus, I know my girl, and she will do this to me every time I drop her off no matter how much she loves it there.
About an hour after I left, the asst. director called me to tell me that she checked on Vivien and she was doing great. That really set my mind at ease. When I picked her up, she was cleaning up toys. She was happy to see me, and didn't fall apart as soon as she saw me (which has happened when we've used the gym daycare, and that just makes me so sad...which is why I don't take her there anymore).
She had painted a pretty picture about God's colors. She ate most of her lunch (a good sign). She stayed in line with the group (they have a soft rope with rings for the kids to hold onto when they walk to music or the playground), which I was shocked since she's never had to do that before. She was a bit confused at naptime, so the asst. teacher sad with her and rubbed her back until she fell asleep. She only slept for 30 minutes, but hey, it's a start! She was a complete chatterbox when we walked to the car. I know she is really going to thrive in a program like this, and I'll just have to get through the guilt of her crying when I leave.
A special note to my mom: I am so sorry. I did this to you until I was 10. I don't know how you did it, because I know it must have been unnerving.
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