First day at preschool

Nicky was in for a shock this month.

Usually each morning, I bring him over to his great grandma’s house. She watches him all day, cooks whatever he likes to eat (porridge, noodles, rice) and lets him zone out to PBS Kids and Nick Jr. This has been his typical routine every day since Hong used up the last of her maternity leave more than two years ago.

But my grandma was getting knee surgery. With months of rehab looming, there was no way she could watch Nicky any longer. And to be honest, he’s now two-and-a-half years-old, and it’s about time he went to school and learned to socialize with other kids.

He gets along great with Nathan and his young cousins. But I could tell the difference between Nathan (who went to childcare at just 16 months and is now almost four years-old) and Nicky in a social environment. Last month, we took both kids to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which has a playground area and some interactive exhibits. There were a lot of kids running around, playing, and Nathan quickly jumped into the fray, went down the slide and ran through tunnels. Nicky on the other hand appeared scared and didn’t seem to know what to do, how to react. He just stood there, frozen, while kids ran past him and pushed him. I kept nudging him to go play but he wouldn’t go.

So just seeing that helped Hong and I decide that it’s time for Nicky to go to school. It’ll be tough on the wallet to send two kids to preschool at the same time. But it’s important for him to go. Since he’s not potty trained yet, we couldn’t send him to the same school as Nathan.

The first day

When he first walked into the classroom, he was a bit apprehensive and didn’t want to get near any of the other kids. But he happily grabbed a toy airplane and plastic car and sat on a rug near the door.

Here’s a short video:

After a little while and some prodding from his new teacher, he was willing to sit at the table with other kids and play with Lego.

I stayed with him for roughly 40 minutes…and snuck out the door when he wasn’t looking. They have a window that lets you peek into the classroom, so you can watch the kids from the outside. Poor guy was crying and screaming for me when he realized I was gone!

I felt absolutely terrible for the rest of the day. I still remember my first day at kindergarten — I cried and didn’t want my dad to leave — so I know exactly how he felt when I left him.

Picked him up early

Nathan tagged along to pick up Nicky on the first day…and he was pretty darn happy!

He enjoyed the playground before going home:

The teacher said he didn’t eat much lunch (only ate white rice) and didn’t sleep much. But that he should eventually get used to going to school.

His favorite time of the day is when we pick him up!

After school, on the third day: