Before last week, we had no intention of sending Harrison to school this year at all. He hadn't been showing any interest in going to school and we just really didn't feel like he was ready. However, over the past weeks, he started asking more questions about school and showing much more interest. Last week, Harrison started asking us every morning if he could stay at school. Cole and I started talking about it and thinking through the situation. We decided that there was really no good reason why we couldn't entertain the notion and started thinking through the pros and cons of sending him to school.
After talking through it, we settled on the following pros and cons.
Pros: He would get to interact with other children. If we were in the U.S., Harrison would have a chance to interact/play with children at least three times a week if not more at church, small group, the library and gym, play dates, etc. Here, it's not so easy because most children are either in school or daycare from a very young age, so there aren't those opportunities for interaction here. Second, he could be in class with Cameron for the remainder of the year, helping him ease into the school and routine.
Con: The only con we could really see was that it would make our (really mine) lives slightly more difficult as I would have to go to school three times a day for drop off/pick up.
After working through the pros and cons, we decided to talk to Cameron's teacher, Miss Inbal, to see what thoughts she had about Harrison coming. She was immediately very supportive of the idea and told us that she thought Harrison was ready. Seeing as Harrison met the requirements for joining the school (age and potty trained) and we got the go ahead from his teacher, we decided to fill out the application and move forward. Miss Inbal told us last Thursday that she would be happy to have him starting on Monday. So, after a whirlwind think through, we decided that Harrison's first day would be today (on a trial basis)!
Harrison was soooooo excited to go to school today!
We went to the store this past weekend and let him pick out a little book bag to take to school.
Cameron was also super excited to have Harrison come to school with him. He was happy to be the big brother and help Harrison with packing his book bag, making sure he had what he needed, and showing him the ropes when they arrived at school.
Once we were at the school, Harrison was gone! I tried to get a picture of him with his teacher, but he only wanted to run in and get started!
He will only be going part time, so I picked him up after a couple hours. He was very happy, but also tired. Miss Inbal told me that he did great...followed the rules and participated in the activities. She said he asked for me a few times, but was otherwise very happy. On the way home, I was very happy to hear a few details about his morning and also that he liked being there. We stopped for a celebratory donut on the way home.
Other than taking a little bit longer nap, Harrison was his happy, normal self this afternoon and evening. We will continue to see how he does over the next few weeks and then decide if we will continue to let him go. I'm thankful for a happy little man who is open to new experiences, and also a wonderful school where we can let him grow! Tomorrow is picture day at school, so we'll see how that goes! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment