Liam's first day of preschool at Valley Forge Presbyterian Nursery School was on September 12 when he became a very proud member of Mrs. Tenney's 3-day class, and no surprise: Liam has taken to school like a fish to water. After being an "honorary" member of the class when he joined Miss Doreen (who has become Aunt Doreen as of late! Well-deserved!) at drop-off and pick-up for Emmy and Kaelyn when they were in that class last year, all this really did was make his status official! It was definitely a comfort for us to know that he already had such a positive relationship with his teacher. And I'm pretty sure the only jitters that day were my own.
I took the morning off work so that I could be there for his first day. It was a picture-perfect morning, just right for the occasion! Before we got in the car to go to Aunt Doreen's, the boys let me get a quick pic on the front steps:
In keeping with the usual school-day routine that Liam knew from the girls last year, we decided to go to Aunt Doreen's house first so that the kids could all walk to school together. Emmy and Kaelyn are now in the 4-day program, and their classroom is right next door to Liam's. Who's ready for their first day?!
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| Emily, Liam, and Kaelyn |
Liam was the very first kid to arrive that morning, and the school wasn't even open yet. He couldn't wait to get inside!
Yeah! They unlocked the door!
Inside, Liam hung his backpack on the hook with his name on it, and then showed me how Mrs. Tenney takes attendance. He found his name right away and put it in the basket. Thank goodness he knew what was going on, because I sure didn't!
Liam wasted no time in finding his trusty safety goggles at the work bench (which was apparently his old stomping ground last year) and then proudly put on his nametag.
Once he was off and running, I had some time to talk with Mrs. Tenney and the director of the school about Liam's allergies... and just in case you were wondering the cause of my jitters about sending our baby to preschool, this would be it! VFPNS is fortunately a peanut-free school, but it is also a co-op school-- meaning, among other things, that each family is responsible for providing the daily snack for the class on a rotating basis. Let's face it. It isn't always easy to avoid peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, and dairy in preparing preschooler snacks. And it is especially not easy to avoid these things when you aren't used to reading food labels closely. It's been a learning curve for all of us; how could I expect 12 other families to jump right in, particularly when we knew that Liam was the only one with food allergies!? We were officially that family!
With that said, I will forever be grateful to the care and concern that Liam's school showed us that day, and each school day since. Upon realizing that exposure to peanuts could put Liam back in the ER, the school director decided to implement a new policy whereby all students wash their hands upon arriving at school, just to minimize the risk of cross-contamination from another student's peanut butter breakfast. They asked us to keep a stash of safe snacks at the school for him, just in case the snack-of-the-day wouldn't be safe for him (which Liam has yet to dip into-- hooray!), and we even keep some vegan cupcakes in the freezer there in case someone's birthday falls on a preschool day. And we of course keep an emergency kit at the school at all times, complete with Benedryl and his Epi-Pen (and of course, overly detailed directives... which should be no surprise if you know me in the slightest).
After unloading all of these concerns and directions and supplies, I felt a little, well, terrified. After we worked so hard over the past year and a half to understand his allergies and to make sure his environment was consistently safe, now here we were expanding his circle exponentially... and expanding the risk of another reaction. So I just had to trust: trust his teacher, trust the school, trust the other families, and trust God. Oh yeah, and let go. I sometimes forget that part :)
At the end of the morning, Doreen and I met back at the school for pick-up. I caught the end of recess, Liam enthusiastically volunteering to be the "engine" to lead the "boxcars" back to the classroom, and the good-bye song. Mrs. Tenney also presented each child with a certificate for their first day of preschool. And so it begins!
This picture makes me laugh every time... Mrs. Tenney is definitely earning her angel wings for patience! What you don't see is that there is another kid outside of the frame, face down in the carpet, wailing. And then there is Liam, sitting straight up on the "L", watching his teacher intently, waiting for his certificate.
When the last certificate was issued, Liam couldn't wait to show Aunt Doreen and the girls his very own folder that Mrs. Tenney gave him to bring home his papers every day.
That first day was great-- for both of us! I couldn't have been prouder of my little preschooler for being so brave and strong. I learned something from him that day for sure.
Every day that he has school, I say a little prayer that he will be safe, and every day when I pick him up from Doreen's, I thank God for answering me.
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