The Whittles Down Under: Coop's Kindergarten Orientation Day

Cooper had his first "day" of Kindergarten this week. In preparation for the big day, we went shopping for a shirt with a collar and some pants that were not sweats (which is what he lives in). He was a real trooper. We went to three different stores and he even let me try a few things on him in the dressing room. Finally, we found what we were looking for at David Jones. As he tried on the shirt and shorts we ended up buying, he looked in the mirror and said, "I actually look kinda good!" And he did. He looked absolutely adorable and so grown up. Then I got all choked up and gave him a huge hug and told him how proud I was of him and he told me he was proud of me too. Oh, my heart melted!

The night before the big morning, he was really nervous. He told me he really just wanted to go back to his school in Tacoma and be with Teacher Anne. He said he was very worried about the "big kids disturbing him" when he is doing his "work." We talked a bit about what to expect and what to do if you someone bothers you. He shed a few tears and then fell asleep. He woke up the next morning in a good mood and actually but got ready with little fuss. He looked wonderful in his new outfit and was so proud to look just like his dad.

It took us about 15 minutes to walk to his school. Once there, we were directed to Mr. Strath's Kindergarten classroom. We walked in the room, he looked around for a minute or so and then found the Mobilos and sat right down to build. It was a very informal morning. The kids played, parents talked and siblings ran around like crazy! After some playtime, the children went to a martial arts demo in the gym. Apparently, Coop did a great job and was complimented by the teacher! While they were gone, Tucker and I went to purchase Coop's summer uniform and his sports uniform. When the kids came back to the classroom, the teacher read a story and did a short computer/white board activity with the group. Then it was over!

As we were walking home, I waited for Coop to instigate the conversation about his morning at school. We got about a half block from school and he said, "Mom, I am not nervous about that school anymore." And that was that!