First Day of Kindergarten

Today Samuel began his first day of Kindergarten at Bauer Elementary in Hudsonville. He was very excited for his first day and had no problems nor any signs of apprehension. After attending preschool last year in Italy in his second language and diverse culture, this was a piece of cake not only for him but for us parents as well. Although, this is a new experience for all of us it sure eases your mind when you are familiar with the system and cultural expectations and not to mention the language! I remember being close to tears last year and worrying all day whether or not Samuel was able to communicate himself or understand what was being said on his first day. After our driving to school prayers he was set to go and after getting his backpack put away in his locker he walked right in to his classroom and sat down ready to begin his day.

From what we can gather he had a great first day. He said he had fun and that he ran and got sweaty...so he must have enjoyed recess or gym class the most. He said he met a boy named Jackson and that his teacher, Mrs. Lyon, was really nice. We made a handprint of some sort and ate a pizzadilla for his hot lunch.

We decided not to send Samuel on the bus since we live less than a mile away from the school. Therefore, I went to pick him up this afternoon. After parking and walking towards the school doors I realized that I almost passed Samuel on the sidewalk walking out with another mother and her child. She really didn't seem to notice he was tagging along. So instead of my first question being, "How was your first day of school?" It was, "Are you supposed to be outside?" We walked back in to the school in search of finding out what the procedure for pick-up was. I didn't see his teacher or classmates so figured I would ask tomorrow morning. A few minutes after arriving home we got a call from Mrs. Lyon anxiously wondering if we had our child. We both did our apologizing and Samuel will be drilled on where to wait on day #2!

Samuel will be attending Kindergarten Tuesdays, Thursdays and alternating Fridays from 8:50am to 3:40pm. Thanks for keeping him in your prayers and for us as well as we will have opportunity to interact with his teacher, parents and classmates. It certainly is quiet around the house when Samuel is gone...he was missed by us all!

One last thing...As many of you know giving Samuel a haircut is torture not only for him but for me as well since he cries and virtually freaks out every time a falling hair touches his body. Therefore, he either gets a buzz or a really uneven and botchy haircut. However, yesterday was a milestone for him showing how much he is growing up! He psyched himself up the whole day saying how brave he was going to be and how proud Dada was going to be of him and how he was not going to cry and be a big boy. I took his word for it and really tested him by doing the most precise job I could while being amazed that during the entire 20 minutes he didn't even come close to crying or screaming. At the end, he said "I LOVE haircuts!!"