Jake is now enrolled in Summer Camp at his pre-school. He started two weeks ago and he has two weeks to go. So how did this little guy who has never really been to any kind of daycare of pre-school react to being dropped of by his mom on the first day?

It didn’t phase him in the least. I was more upset about the whole thing that he was. Deep down I know that this was a good thing and that it would have been 100 times harder for me if he was afraid and didn’t want to go…but a little hesitation on his part would have been nice.

We lined up out front of the school with the other kids and parents and waited for them to open the doors. Jake had on his frog backpack and was making 4 year old chitchat with the other kids in line. I was getting more and more nervous by the second. I kept confirming with him that he realized that I was coming in just for a second and then leaving…”yes mom, I know”.

The door opened and everyone was welcomed in. The teacher instructed Jake to go hang up his backpack on the hook and then to go get in line to wash his hands. Once it was his turn to wash his hands he climbed right up on the stool, washed and then dried his hands. I was awkwardly standing there not knowing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing.

I figured when he was done washing his hands he would come back over to me but…no I was wrong. Jake had already made a friend and was playing with some sand. I instantly started to well up but kept it under control. I looked over at the teacher who looked at me and said “well…I guess you can just take off.”

I went over and broke the news to Jake that I would now be leaving him alone, that I would be walking out of the building and I wouldn’t be back for 3 hours, he would have to listen to the teachers and make friends to which he replied… “see ya.”

And so, after 3 hours I went back to pick him up and he was already excited about the idea of coming back to school the next day. What I really got a kick out of was me asking what he had done and him saying “I don’t know. Well, did you learn any songs, I asked. “No.” Did you color any pictures, I asked. “No.” Did you do anything at all, I asked. “Yes, we did stuff.”

And so starts the daily school-day conversation that every parent has with their children:
“How was school today?”
“Good.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”

But seriously, he loves his new school and is getting used to being on this new schedule, listening to his teachers and he seems to love to learn. I don’t mean to brag but they do tell me that Jake is super friendly, always in such a great mood and is soooo nice to all the other kids. I think he must get these qualities from me.

See Jake’s video of swimming-lessons