A Team Week 155: Asher Goes to Kindergarten

On September 5th our oldest hit a new milestone and our family entered a new phase in life as Asher went to off to kindergarten.  It was a moment in life that has caused each of us much anxiety over the past couple of years and although it was by no means easy, we survived.

With both Eric and I working mixing school into our schedules was no easy feat.  We would have loved to send him to preschool to warm him up to the structures and social natures of public education, but with half days being the only option offered there was no way to make it work with our career schedules.  Thus, for Asher's first five years he attending nothing  but in-home daycare and being the introvert that he is (like his mother) Eric and I both worried how he would handle the transition.

As the summer went by, we talked a lot about going to school hoping Asher would get really excited.  Some days he was...and some days he wasn't.  When the day finally came though at the start of this month he was being very positive about the idea and that morning was ready to go.  He was excited to pick out his clothes for his first day, excited to pack his lunch and excited to put on his backpack.  We took the obligatory first day of school pictures and being that Asher was my oldest and this was our first go-around with this event I had a few different variations of this picture to try out and see what I wanted to use in the years to come...

I found this idea on Pinterest and wrapped up some of my old textbooks for it.  Unfortunately it didn't work as planned because the books were too heavy to Asher to hold for very long!

Thus, we opted for this version instead and then I photoshopped the text onto the spines of the book.

The day was also a very nice day so I couldn't resist some pictures inside...but I took pictures inside by the ruler to have a frame of reference for how the kids change from year to year and also give us an option for years when the weather isn't nice.  (Side Note: As I type this I am realizing just how much I truly overthink things!)

When pictures were finished (a thanks to Asher for putting up with his Momma...although he should be used to it by now!) we all loaded into the van and drove the approximate mile to his elementary school, where we found a parking space on the street and then took a couple more pictures with the school sign before figuring out where we were supposed to take Asher.

Up until we finished taking pictures in front of the sign, everything was going very well and Asher was excited and happy.  Unfortunately though, as soon as the pictures were finished and we started actually walking to the school it all became REAL and everything changed.  Asher started to walk slower as we made our way over to the other kids and parents and then started to cry stating that he did not want to go to school.  Eventually, he began to pull back so much that Eric had to carry him to his line where we waited until it was time to go in.  When the time came we'd hoped that Asher would decide to willingly go in with the other kids and his teacher but that wasn't the case.  Eric had to carry him in kicking and crying. 

A scared little boy and his daddy.

We got to his classroom and tried to get him excited about joining in with everyone else but nothing we did worked and I felt awful.  I couldn't hold by my own tears as my worst fears came true for that first day and I did everything in my power to get him to willing leave my side.  Eventually, Eric and Avery went out in the hall and waited for us while Asher and I continued to sit in the back of his classroom.  Then I did what a mother had to do and peeled myself from him while his teachers and an assistant held him back and I left.  I walked out the classroom shaking with tears streaming down my face and closed the door behind me as I listened to the sobs and screams of my little boy behind me and my own sobs escaping my mouth.  It was one of the hardest moments of my time as a mom to date.  :(

Sitting in the back of the classroom with Asher.

From there we headed back out to the van as I prayed for Asher to have a good day and then Eric brought Avery and I home before he headed to work.  It took me a little while to get over my anxieties of Asher at school but eventually I got a hold of myself and my nerves and then threw myself into focusing on Avery and our time together for the rest of the day as his daycare was closed and I was staying home with him.

While I worked to pull myself together, Avery played and he was quite thrilled for the opportunity to play with Asher's toys!!  :P  As soon as we got home he immediately ran to Asher's Lego Batmobile and said, "I pay wit dis?"  I told him he could as long as he was careful with it and put it back where he got it from when he was finished.  Let's just say he was a VERY happy little boy!  Then the next day when he did go to daycare, I was told that he enjoyed playing with the Duplos blocks without Asher as well.  Christina said that Asher usually takes all of the longest pieces to build with and Asher excitedly told her, "I pay with the big blocks!"...and then, "I pay with ALL the blocks" as he realized he didn't have to share them with his brother.  :)  The joys of a little boy who gets to finally peak out from big brother's shadow!  ;)

Later in the morning, Avery and I headed out for our own little adventure.  Our first stop was Great Clips to get him a much-needed haircut!!  Afterwards we did a little shopping together at Kohls and Meijer and then headed back home for lunch, rest and a little more play time before picking up Asher.

His hair was SO long!!

Checking out his good looks in the mirror.

Spidey and Kohls

While Avery and I had our own adventure Asher continued with his first day of school and Eric and I were both very thankful for the ClassDojo app.  His teacher posted several pictures to the app throughout the day (& the rest of the week) which allowed us to see that Asher did indeed survive and was participating along with the rest of the class which brought some much-needed peace and joy to my heart...

Finally, it was time to pick up Asher.  Since it was his first day we waited a little while to get him so that he could experience the after-school program that he would be attending, but I could not wait all the way until 6:00 per the usual.  Instead, Avery and I picked him up at around 4:15.  We walked in to get him together and then Avery gave Asher a Star Wars balloon that he'd picked out for him at Meijer that morning.  It was pretty adorable to see the boys reunited.  For the last 3 years they have been together basically every day of their lives and now things were changing.  After Asher took the balloon he got a big smile on his face and then gave his little brother a big hug and kiss.  It was pretty adorable and obvious that they missed each other. <3

Before leaving the school, we headed outside and played for a little bit at the playground and then we got into the van and headed to Culver's for a pre-dinner/first-day-of-school treat, which I think will be our newest tradition.

After that first day, I'd love to say it was smooth sailing from there but I can't.  It did slowly get easier, but VERY slowly.  Starting on Wednesday, Eric began bringing Asher to school alone and early enough to have breakfast at school in hopes of making it to work on time.  That first time Eric actually had to deal with both of them as I had to leave early for work, but the rest of the week I brought Avery to daycare before going into work.  We both felt like we were burning the wick at both ends.  I got a bit depressed as the week went on as I realized the truth in "it takes a village" and that with no family or close friends nearby we really don't one, but we pressed on.  It was an exhausting week with many tears shed, and begging from Asher to not have to go to school/go to breakfast/go to the YMCA etc.  Asher did fine once he got settled into things each day but convincing him to get settled was a struggle.  We were not sure we would make it through the week but we did...surprisingly.

Asher at the breakfast table.

Saying Goodbye to Daddy on Day #2

Class Dojo Day #2: Asher's picture of an Apple (I think)

Class Dojo Day #2: 'Reading' picture books

Class Dojo Day #3: Name Art...learning to use a 'dab' of glue.

Class Dojo Day #3: Computer Lab Time.  They played a game which taught them how to use a mouse.  This was Asher's favorite part of the week and 3 weeks later is still one of his favorite things to do.  He is thrilled to be able to use a computer on his own!

Avery & Asher raking leaves on Thursday night (completely unprompted).

Finally, it was Friday which means that Asher only had a half day at school.  Since Eric and I are new to this school thing we had no idea what was going on that day.  We thought since school was done at 12:06 that kids wouldn't have lunch, so we didn't pack Asher a lunch.  We also thought that they had snack time in the afternoon, so we didn't pack him a snack.  Turns out, snack time is the morning (thankfully it was a classmate's birthday so Asher was able to get a cookie for snack) and they still have lunch...so while the other kids got to eat in their classroom that day, Asher sat at the table with no lunch waiting for the day to be over.  The teacher posted the photo below of the class eating their lunches and when Eric and I spotted Asher in the photo (back left green table) with his head down at the table our hearts broke.  Major.Parent.Fail.  :(

Class Dojo Day #4: Friday Classroom Lunch aka Parent Fail

Even though Asher looked a bit sad and bored waiting for the day to be over as his classmates ate their lunches, his actual lunch was MUCH more exciting.  Since I'd taken Tuesday off, I had to work on Friday which meant that Eric picked him up from school, took him to McDonalds for lunch and then brought him to Christina's to play with his daycare friends for the rest of the day!

Asher-Daddy lunch date.

That night, I picked up both boys from daycare and then it was finally the weekend.  We'd survived the first week of school and felt like we'd conquered the world.  The only problem was that come Monday we would have to do it all over again...but until then, we did our best to enjoy the weekend and our time together!

Asher watching 'Go Blue'

Family football time...watching the first home game!  Go Blue!

How many Migrins does it take to fix the toilet?  Answer: 3  :)

Brotherly iPad cuddle.

That moment when mom realizes you colored on the fridge and get put to work cleaning up your mess... #thisonestrouble #hesluckyhescute #cantresistthatfacetho 

As the weekend came to a close and I realized that Monday was just hours away I was determined to get things a bit more organized to start week #2.  Thus, I reorganized all of our food storage to make getting Asher's lunches made and snacks together a cinch.  It took a while but the end results were (& continue to be) worth it!

Fruit options, Snack Options & treat Options

Refrigerated lunch options.