Snoopy Days and School Days

One of the wonderful blessings we have at Otter Creek is the preschool and Kindergarten where so many sweet children are nurtured, taught, loved, and prayed for. We knew that we wanted to send Lucas there, but the time sure did fly faster than we thought and we received a "Snoopy Letter" in the mail from Miss Julie inviting Lucas to "snoop" around his classroom before school started. 

Here is Lucas holding his Snoopy Letter:

Snoopy Day is only about an hour long, but it gives the kids a chance to get familiar with where they will be and a time for the parents to see everything and have a meeting with Miss Pat about the school year. I knew we would be separated a bit that morning, but I wasn't prepared for how quick it would happen (as it should, I know). Lucas ran right into his room and didn't look back!

Lucas' cubby.

Otter Creek School has the most amazing playground, I know everyone is going to miss it so much when the kids move to the new school this fall. A lot of my friends started here as 2 year olds and I know that leaving this special place will be hard for them too, but the new school is going to be wonderful and hold its own special memories.

Lucas would introduce himself to any teacher he didn't know by sticking his hand out and saying, "My name is Lucas Graves, nice to meet you"! 

Here are a couple pictures of his classroom:

And here is Miss Julie, Lucas' teacher! She is just so sweet and I know we are going to grow to love her even more and she will become a part of our family. I have heard the most wonderful things about her!

Lucas (and mommy) love that Miss Dele will always be there at school too. I know it is comforting for both of us to have that familiar face- especially in the early days. Lucas is already looking forward to the days he can stay late and go home with Miss Dele to play.

The 2 year old classroom door.

Leaving Snoopy Day. We had a plane to catch for my brother's wedding (blog coming soon) so we couldn't stay for too long and play but Lucas insisted on carrying his school bag which is about the size of his body!

Lucas' school bag (each child has the same bag for all their years at Otter Creek) and 

a special treat from Miss Dele. 

Fast forward to Tuesday. The first day. I knew this was the right thing for him and that he was just going to love school so much, but it was so hard to imagine my day without him tagging along with me. It was only a 9-12 day for him so that they could get a little more acclimated to their class but I just thought that sounded like forever! 

We took some pictures outside before we left, of course bribery with pink milk (Strawberry Instant Breakfast) had to be used :)

Target had a rack of cards for kids going to school and of course I had to get him the one from Elmo wishing him a great day at preschool :) 

Waiting in the drop off line. My heart is heavy just remembering this moment! I was all choked up and Lucas kept saying, "momma talk"? I sure couldn't. I knew in just a couple minutes, Miss Pat would arrive at our door and carry him to his class and I wasn't sure what I would do after that! 

I arrived at the drop-off door with my dark sunglasses on and a box of Kleenex beside me. He was so excited to get out with Miss Pat and was asking, "where Miss Julie"? No tears from him. I, on the other hand, had a hard time figuring out how to put my car into drive. I got as far as the lower parking lot before I pulled over along with my friend Courtney and we sobbed and hugged for a bit. The funny thing was watching all the moms who have done this many times with many children and they were all waving and smiling on their way to wherever they were going as we were frozen in that parking lot not sure how to operate without our little people.

I did eventually collect myself enough to go to Starbucks and get some coffee before taking my list to Target. I wasn't able to put anything in my cart though, my mind just didn't know how to go back to a normal activity just yet. I was glad I had a doctor's appointment that morning, by the time it was over, I grabbed lunch and pulled into the pick-up line at school. 

It was fun to be able to see through the window at school and see him playing happily while I was waiting my turn in line. We have signs on our visors so that the teachers can see whose parents are in line next and the designated teacher brings your little love and puts them in their car seat while telling you about their day. Miss Pat even came to my car to tell me how well he did and how much fun he had. 

An Otter Creek school tradition that even my friends remember from their childhood is stopping at the "Purple Cow" for a treat after school. It is just a gas station/market but I have heard their cheeseburgers are amazing! Lucas picked a watermelon flavored slush puppie and drank it happily outside with his friends. 

This is the picture of Lucas before I dropped him off, for some reason I can't put this in time-order.

Back to after school. We went to see daddy at his office and Lucas was so proud to show off his caterpillar that he made and tell daddy all about his day. He chatted all the way home and then took a 3 hour nap! 

Now--our first full day is tomorrow. I think I can I think I can.