From my lips to blogs ears

My little guy will be starting preschool in the fall. This will be our second attempt at the whole 'preschool' thing. The first attempt was last summer when I enrolled him in 'Kiddie Kamp' Tues and Thurs every other week for the entire summer. It was a freaking disaster. As a former preschool teacher with a degree in Early Childhood Education, I have seen my fair share of seperation anxiety flip-outs when the parents leave. Usually by the time Mommy gets to her car, Jr is happily playing and has forgotten all about her. Oh...not the case with my boy...because god FORBID he do something NORMAL...lol! He threw the fit of all fits. He SCREAMED like someone was trying to kill him. He chased me out the door twice. The teacher then had to hold him while I walked out...but he was able to break away from her and again ran out the door. ( I know this because I snuck around to the back of the building where he couldn't see me to listen to make sure he calmed down.) They finally had to lock the door to keep him in...causing all the rest of the arriving children and parents to have to knock on the door to get in. He settled down in about 20 minutes...but remained quiet and stoic all day. When I would come to get him, his eyes would immediately fill with tears of relief that I was there to rescue him. It was awful. I sent him for two weeks, hoping he would settle in, and thinking that he 'needed' it. Every day he would ask if he had to go back to Kiddie Kamp...and would cry if I said yes. My in-laws wanted me to pull him out...especially after the day they picked him up and saw for themselves the way he teared up with relief....but they are softies. It wasn't til my mom came to visit and saw his obsession and fear about going there and agreed with everyone that he shouldn't go anymore...she is SOOO NOT a softie. So...he never went back. It has been a YEAR now and he STILL talks about Kiddie Kamp every week or so and how he didn't like that place and asks for reassurance that he doesn't have to ever go back.

So...I finally get to my point...he is going to preschool in the fall for a couple days a week. This time I KNOW he needs it. I cannot send him to kindergarten and make his teacher deal with his issues when she should be teaching. He seems excited this time. We are sending him to the same preschool his sister went to when she was little. I just hope he is able to settle in and be himself. And I hope that himself ends up coming off to the other kids and teachers as the class clown and NOT the class freak (since I know the boy...I know it will be one or the other...lol). There is a fine line between the kid who everyone likes and makes everyone laugh and the kid sitting in the back of the room eating paste while trying to communicate with Planet Zolton through the ball of tinfoil in his pocket. Please...Please...let him be the former.