September 15, 2009

Today was the first day of PreK for Grace. What we've come to realize over the past year is that Grace often becomes very anxious before any event when she is at all concerned about social rules or interactions. She is so uncomfortable and the ways that she shows that discomfort makes for an unpleasant day for all of us. David's out of town for a couple of days and so we were already concerned that today might be a little intense -- so we decided to try just not telling Grace anything about today. The day was marked on her calendar and if she paid any attention to that she would have noticed the little magnet X moving closer to the days marked with red stars. Last week we went to her open house, and yesterday we did her homework:

Just look at that beautiful red star! Except for the yellow letters, Grace embellished it by herself.

But that was all the prep we did. No talk the night before, no mention made this morning, but she did have her first chance to fill in her behavior chart this morning:

There are four categories across the top and she got duck stickers for getting through the bathroom and dressing quickly.

She knew the next step was an easy drop off but never made any mention of it. We had a very relaxed morning.

Grace was incredibly sweet to her sisters.

We even had time to read a book after playing a little when breakfast was through.

Suki is so sweet.

If you sing "Start your day the health way!" Kate will respond "Eggs, eggs, eggs!"

After the book I told Grace it was time to put on her shoes so she could earn her drop off sticker. She readily put them on but then said "but not a drop off at school." I told her yes, a drop off at school. And she replied "but it's not a school day." I told her that yes, it was a school day. And then we came out to take some photos. Easy peasy, no complaints. I love that she's wearing her locket of family and gorilla photos along with her name tag.

My big kid.

I was holding my breath the whole time, waiting for the meltdown that usually accompanies a day like this but it never came.

At the front of the drop off line.

And she got out of the car by herself and walked into school.

Back at home, Suki and Kate didn't seem sure what to do with themselves.

I was antsy not knowing what was happening at school, so we played a bit and read a bit and then watched some videos.

Then we headed back for pick up. We got there and were dismayed to see this line. For those of you unfamiliar with the school, this line went all the way to the right of the frame, then all the way to the left of the frame (up a hill) then made two 90 degree turns around the school before we got to Grace. We were in line for 20 minutes, I could not believe it.

The look on her face was worth the wait.

She was so excited to come out and her teacher reported that she had a great day.

Kate fell asleep during our long wait and Grace tried to wake her up with a kiss.

Admiring the bouquet Joseph and Ally made for her on the playground.

Showing it off to Suki.

In summary, our very unorthodox method of handling the first day of school worked out perfectly for Grace. I was so happy and relieved she had such a good first day and now I am filled with hope that this year will be a little easier for us all.