Sunshine School

In an attempt to get our 5 shy sunbeams to interact instead of cry in a class setting, five of us mothers have started a rotating preschool. One of the mothers named it (Sunshine School) and wrote up a schedule and mini-curriculum for the next four months. Each mother will take a week (Monday mornings) to pick up all the kids, teach, play, hand out a snack and return them home. I was all for it but had my concerns about the first few times simply because we never did get Nathan to go to nursery easily until Hyrum joined him for a couple of months. Then it was time for him to go to Sunbeams and he was ok with that until he found out that Hyrum couldn't go with him. The fit that he threw that first week was unreal! Much worse at a near 4 years old than it had been when he was 2.

The night before preschool I brought the whole family into the prepping of preschool. Levi took the reverse psychology role and kept telling him that he was to young for school, that he would cry and he even bet him that he wouldn't go the next morning. That turned out to be the trick to getting him there.

When he woke up Monday morning he was groggy and whiney and as soon as I mentioned preschool he dramatically collapsed to the floor and started crying. I sat on the floor next to him, rubbed his back and said, "I guess Levi was right, you're to little to go to preschool". He paused for a minute then sat up and stated matter of factly, "No I'm Not!"

He willingly got dressed and packed his backpack with the bare necessities (blankie, Lambie and kleenex) and was ready 15 minutes early. I didn't want him to back out during the wait so I suggested we take videos to show Levi that he really was going to school. About 9 videos later it was time to go.

As soon as the teacher knocked on the door he opened it and marched out without me. He didn't even give me a goodbye hug or look back. He appeared so independent that I wondered what had happened to my separation anxiety driven child. That reverse psychology babble can be powerful, on the few occasions that it works.

Hyrum was sad to be left behind so we put on his jacket and backpack and went to get groceries in our free time. He was so determined to figure out his zipper that he refused to look at me for a picture.