Preschool, take 3

After an unfortunate illness-enforced interruption in Jack's preschool schedule last week, we finally got back to the program today. I was getting a little nervous that the time away would disrupt the momentum of Jack's acclimation process. One of my early incentives for Jack to go to preschool was that he'd be able to skip naps on the days he went. By the end of last week, he was telling me he'd rather take his nap than go see Miss Margaret.

This afternoon, before we left to go, I had another conversation with Jack that did little to inspire confidence in how well he'd do today.

First he told me, "I can't see Miss Margaret today, because I'm sick!"

When I told him he wasn't sick anymore, he told me, "I don't like Miss Margaret."

"You don't?" I asked. "Why not?

"Because I don't like her word."

"What? What does that mean, Jack?" (I never did find out.)

"I don't like Miss Margaret, Mommy," he said. "Because I don't like her word. I only like you."

Of course, it is always nice to hear your child likes you, but it's also a little worrisome when you're trying to get him to trust someone else.

Then he told me that he wanted me to stay with him at Miss Margaret's.

"Don't drop me off! Mommy, stay with me!" he begged.

I told him that I couldn't stay with him, even though I wanted to. I said that, just like Daddy has responsibilities and has to go to work even when he doesn't want to, part of my job is to let Jack go to preschool even though I'd rather stay with him all the time.

I also told him that one of the reasons he had to go to preschool was because he needed to learn how to be less scared around other people and to use gentle voices and pretty words and to not say things like, "No that boy" and "I don't like that girl" so much. I told him that Miss Margaret would be able to help him better than I could. He seemed to understand this.

When we got to the preschool, I went in for a few minutes. When it was time for me to leave, he protested a little but ultimately let me give him a kiss and walk out the door.

On the ride home in the car, he told me, "I didn't cry today." (Miss Margaret had already confirmed this.)

I told him I was proud of him and that he did so well today.

And then he said, "I don't like that girl. I don't like Abigail."

Oh well, Rome wasn't built in a day.

Jack with his new big-boy school backpack. And Pooh, of course.