Pre-School!

This is my first year, in eleven years of homeschooling, that I haven't had a toddler in the house. I thought it would be easy-peasy with 1 in high school, 3 fairly independent home students, and a 5 year old. A sweet, loving - yet somewhat temperamental - 5 year old. A lad who is used to having his every need catered to by one of the many bigger people in the house and knows how to use his voice if it's not. Ahhhh...

I found some old pictures that I didn't even realize I had on this computer today and the timing was perfect because I was just thinking about these days this morning as I walked JoJo down the street for his first day of preschool. Oh yeah... you heard me.

Now this is not the most pleasant (or glamorous) way to carry a child... but at least they can't run away from you. Unfortunately, when you are 8 months pregnant in August, camping in a barren dirt lot leaves a bit to be desired. Actually, I'm not sure there is really any appropriate time for this, but we eventually learned to seek out grassy locations.

Here's our first (and last) post-baby camping trip. JoJo hated the swing. Who hates the swing? Ugh! I managed to capture one of the 45 seconds he wasn't screaming on this trip.

Cheerios and a high chair were a sure thing for a while.

Who needs water to have fun in a baby pool? Nah... all you need is someone to retrieve your toys after you toss them out one by one.

The boat was fun for a while.

Then he got really into football cards.

The stroller... why can't they ride in a stroller until they're 10?

But today, it was a scooter. (Of course since there wasn't going to be yarn, I forgot my camera and had to settle for the fuzzy cell phone pic instead. Maybe we'll pretend Wednesday is his first day and try for a real picture.)

Yes, it's the middle of the school year and he's really been doing Kindergarten work at home, but I wanted him to be able to have some fun with kids his age... and give us some more quiet time to get schoolwork done at home. (A gal does have limits you know.)

There was one opening at the church down the street where my oldest had gone some 11 years ago. I remember when it was time for him to go to pre-school. I did tons of research and toured my top 6 picks asking all the right questions. I worried so that he was going to be exposed to naughty boys, bad words, and awful things like Power Rangers.

It wasn't quite the same with #5. I called the pre-school down the street and asked if they had room. "For the summer or fall?" the girl asked.

Me: "Uh... now?"

Well, yes they had room... would I like a tour and/or a chance to meat the teacher?

Me: "No. How much is it? When do you need the money? And can he start Monday?"

So this morning, big brother Daniel and I walked him to school. He was beaming, while I was worrying about what he might say (especially since he has an older brother who thinks everything is "gay" - ugh!), hoping he wouldn't pull any Power Ranger moves on his new playmates, and contemplating how humiliating it would be to have a child kicked out of pre-school.

But all went well. They made green eggs and had a blast! He was so happy and polite when I picked him up. As we held hands across the parking lot, he looked up at me with his cutest smile and said, "Can I play X-Box when I get home?" I replied, "No Honey, not today. We're going to go home and have lunch." Then he kicked me.

I wonder if they have military pre-school.