Moment of Transparency:
Our first day caught me off guard. The staff was absolutely ready. Their director? Not so much. In all of my dreaming and planning, I hadn't imagined the crying and resistance. I also did not account for my own adjustment as a mom. Every morning since the start of school I've listened for crying from my office because my natural instinct would be to help or soothe. I did not want to interfere with our capable teachers. More importantly, I did not want to steal an opportunity for a child to recognize his own ability to comfort him or herself. Each day I listened and I waited. Sometimes the crying was my little one. Sometimes it was another child. Each day that I listened, the duration of crying decreased a little. Today, there was no crying. Today, I greeted the first student who asked if he could wait for his friends before going into the classroom. The next student also wanted to wait. The teacher did not rush them along. They all waited for the the arrival of their friends until everyone had arrived. They all entered the gathering room together. No one cried. No one whined. They just waited patiently for one another. I am so proud of these kids and the teachers that empower them. They are so brave. They have settled in nicely. One of the teacher's commented during lunch, "We have the best preschoolers!" I couldn't agree more.