A Soon to be Preschooler

It's not quite time for Will to begin preschool...but it will be soon.  As in, 8 months soon (and the older I get, the quicker 8 months flies by).  Then, before I know it, I'll have a preschooler!  (And a 1st & 3rd grader!)

Because he will attend the 3-year old class in September a few months after turning three, and because registration is beginning now, we decided to tour the preschool.  It's the same preschool both Jacob and Alex attended for 2 years each, so I can find my way around with my eyes closed.  Will was with me every time I dropped Alex off in his classroom, but he was so young.  I was excited for him to see the classrooms and know that it would soon be HIS school.  To add even more excitement to the trip, we were tagging along on an official tour that Kerri & Camden signed up for.  She is also registering Camden for preschool and the BFF's will be in the same 3-year old class.  It will be awesome for them to be classmates.

Double Trouble.  And Camden.

We walked around with the Preschool Director, who is so comforting and kind.  We saw the playground (where the boys spent the entire time trying to figure out how they could break through the fence and get in), the lunchroom, the Discovery Room (think a 1 room museum devoted to a certain theme each month), and of course, the two 3-year old classrooms.  The classrooms were empty during our visit because the students were either at lunch or recess, so Will and Camden had the place to themselves.  And they took full advantage.

Ignore the serious expressions.  They were having fun, but sometimes play requires intense concentration faces.

Nostalgia struck hard as I entered Jacob's 3-year old classroom.  I could remember clearly the spot where we hugged goodbye, and the corner he ran over to to begin playing.  I  had the same wave of memories in Alex's 3-year old class.  I could vividly picture the spot where he gave me a sweet 3-year old smile before I left, and the little kitchen along the wall where he began to play as I stepped out.

I was grateful that this tour was just a practice run, because I also vividly remember crying after dropping the big boys off for their first days of preschool.  I want Will to be excited about school (and he is), but that doesn't mean I want it to get here quickly.  At least I know that first day is always harder for the parent than the preschooler.  And I know he'll have his best friend/cousin to experience it with.