Life of a preschooler

As most of you will probably recall, I was more than a little nervous about Camden starting preschool. I was having visions (okay, nightmares) about the first day drop off: I pictured him screaming loudly, clinging to my leg with all of his might, and having to be forcibly removed from my body by all three of his teachers forming a chain and ripping him away from me. Okay, so maybe that's a tad dramatic, but I was sure that his first day of preschool would be traumatic for both of us.

And then it wasn't. Then came the next day and the day after that and they weren't traumatic either. I thought back to an email my friend sent to me a couple of weeks before preschool started. Her daughter was also on the shy side but had really blossomed at preschool and she reassured me that Camden would probably be the same way. And you know what? That's exactly what's been happening.

Camden has changed in so many ways over the past few weeks. I know part of it is that he's approaching his fourth birthday (!!), so there's a certain level of maturity he has now that he didn't even a few months ago. But I also know that, without a doubt, so many of the positive changes I've noted in him are due to attending preschool away from home. There are basic things, like consistently remembering to use his manners. Of course, he's always been a polite kid, but now he's quick to offer an "I'm sorry, Mommy" if he so much as accidentally bumps into me when he walks by. Then there's his newfound independence. He doesn't want my help with much these days: he dresses himself after using the potty (something he wasn't doing before preschool), and if I even attempt to assist him with anything, he'll often say, "I can do it myself, Mommy. I'm big now."

I've mentioned before that his cousin/best friend, Will, is in his preschool class. Camden's teachers told my sister and me that their plan was to begin separating Will and Camden during various activities throughout the day, as they tended to remain glued to each other's sides. Upon hearing of their plan, I was a little nervous-- what if Camden only liked preschool because he got to be hand in hand with Will all day? Camden has always been a little more reserved around other children, so I wondered if he'd make friends without his trusty sidekick there as a security blanket. It turns out, I had nothing to worry about. When I picked the boys up from school a week ago, Camden told me matter-of-factly, "Will went to Discovery today. I didn't go." I asked what he did while his cousin was in another classroom and he responded with, "I played with my other friends." Cue the deepest sigh of relief ever from this mama upon hearing how casually he relayed this information to me.

I can't count the number of times over the past few weeks that Camden has said to me, "School is awesome, Mommy!" Every night, he asks if the following day is a school day and is disappointed when it's not. His teachers have told me what a nice, well behaved kid he is on more than one occasion. I'm so incredibly proud of him-- and more than a little relieved.

 

He woke up this school morning and the first words out of his mouth were: "I get to be line leader today!" This boy loves him some school.