Levi starts school

So on Monday Levi excitedly started his new school adventure. He had been excited for weeks but as we were driving we could see him getting nervous.

We hung out for a while in front of the classroom waiting for it to open - Levi just wanted to go straight to the playground which they teasingly placed just near the classrooms but it was all wet from all this rain we've been having so that idea was quickly vetoed. Finally the doors were opened & we all rushed in. We were a little overwhelmed at this point.

Levi was very excited to see his name everywhere on all the little spots that were marked as his. He proudly put his little backpack in its spot, put his hat away in his little drawer and then started to explore his classroom. He was fascinated by the electronic whiteboard, and all the activity tables that were set up. While most of the other boys gravitated towards the lego table, Levi made a beeline for the art table. As usual. He began to draw & was quite happy.

Then he looked up & started to notice some of the other mums leaving. He looked at me and realised I was going to leave too. That's where things unravelled.

He burst into tears and attached himself firmly to me. His teacher noticed & offered him a bee-bot (a little robot for the little kids to "program" - something she had been keen to get Levi into). But nothing was going to distract him at this point. He knew better. I could see he was just going to get more upset so I offered to the teacher that I would just go and I knew he would be ok. I managed to hold it together while I unwrapped his little arms from around me and gave him a cheerful goodbye, promising to come and get him in the afternoon. I was proud of my efforts in holding it together all the way out until I was walking away from the classroom. Then the tears came. I had laughed at everyone who said I would cry thinking I would be fine but it was just so sad to see him so upset.

I expected that when we picked him up he might start crying again but he was quite happy and settled. He loves school, adores his teacher and proudly showed us his first completed schoolwork. We collected his things, and had another brief meltdown when he got upset that his pencil case wasn't in his school bag but his teacher explained that the pencil cases stay in the classroom and he was eventually ok with that. Since Geoff had another hour or so before finishing work, we hung out in his office eating the special cookies I had bought as a first-day treat, and sharing stories about Levi's first day. He was quite excited to go back to school the next day so we knew all was well.

The second day was a bit of an embarrassing mummy moment. Since Geoff starts work early & it was pouring rain, we were hanging out in his office again, playing games until it was time to go down to the classroom. We totally lost track of time and ended up running to the classroom after the bell had gone. He was the last one there but it actually worked really well because he didn't have any time to get upset. He put his things away and one of his teachers helped him put his nametag on and we waved a quick goodbye as he was ushered onto the mat for the roll call. So none of the expected tears! Yay! I could never have expected this kind of quick adjustment!

Third day came and for the first time I had to do the school run with all three boys in tow - no kindy today :( . It had been pouring rain for a few days so we decided to "embrace the puddle" so we dressed Levi & Finn in raincoats, Jett had a hoodie and Finn & Jett had gumboots. However, I had to keep them entertained & together for about an hour between when we arrived for Geoff to start work, and when the classes start. It worked for a little while, we found an awesome playground with a tin-shed kind of roof over it so although the equipment was wet, they weren't actually in the rain. Jett was just fascinated with jumping in the puddles and Finn was enjoying the playground.

Then things started to unravel. I hadn't thought far enough ahead to put Levi in something other than his school shoes. He sought out the wettest parts of the playground and after several attempts to call him away from things, he finally got away from me when I was chasing Jett as he took off on me yet again, and he went down the slide. That was the beginning of the end. The slide was wet of course, but his raincoat protected most of his clothes. At the bottom of the slide however, was a massive puddle which we all underestimated and Levi ended up soaked right up to his waist. Later Jett tripped in the same puddle and he was soaked to his chest. After trying to keep them contained and relatively dry for a while it just wasn't working so we sat outside the classroom to wait. All the other mums started to arrive with their perfectly clean and dry children and there was Levi, white socks turned brown with mud, shoes & pants dripping wet and Jett covered in wet bark from the playground, while Levi & Finn were intent on wrestling each other and anyone else who came near. I had become "that mum". The one who is clearly struggling with crazy kids, everybody looks messy & unloved, and I was quickly losing it.

Luckily Levi was happy to go to school and ran in to sit on the mat just waiting for all the other kids to come in. We got out of there as fast as we could to try again next time. I don't know how I'm going to do that twice a week for the next year! On Friday I may just bring their breakfast & sit in the car with them for the hour. They can't do too much damage if they're strapped into a carseat right?