Lukey's Transitions

Today Luke spent an hour at the Bala Cynwyd School, which he'll begin attending two days a week this summer. When we arrived, the kids were on the playground, and Luke squealed with delight when he saw all the balls and cars that he could ride. Not at all surprisingly, he cried when I left, but as is the case whenever I have a sitter come to our home, I figured that he'd be okay in five or 10 minutes. I returned in an hour, and I was so disheartened to learn that Luke was sad the entire time the kids were out on the playground. One of the teachers held him, and he expressed no interest in getting down to play. The teacher told me that he stopped crying when they went inside, and he found a firetruck to play with. But then the other kids got into their swimmy diapers and bathing suits, and when the teacher said it was time to go back outside for water play, Luke started crying again. I picked him up at this exact moment, with tears rolling down his cheeks. Because Luke seems so social and outgoing -- he was one of only two kids in his Little Gym class who would consistently go up to the teacher and give him a high five during the introductions, I thought his transition here would be smoother. I recognize, however, that he's in a completely new environment, as opposed to being left at home with a sitter where everything is still so familiar.

In the parking lot, I bumped into my neighbor, Lori Maran, whose 4-year-old daughter is one of the most outgoing children I've ever met. Lori said that she had a very similar experience when Emily started at a program when she was 18 months old. Lori said she'd come to pick up Emily only to find her in a corner of the playground, sitting by herself. Lori said it took Emily a month to settle in, and now Emily complains to her parents if they pick her up too early. I certainly hope it doesn't take Luke a month to adjust to being in this new environment, but at the same time, I'll put my expectations in check. He won't go back until Tuesday, and I'll call to check on him and pick him up at the two-hour mark. Hopefully the next day he'll be okay to stay through lunch.

On an upbeat note, today is the first day that Luke took a nap in his toddler bed and fell asleep there at night-time. Ken and I went to an event at the zoo tonight, but our babysitter said he got out of his toddler bed only once. Let's hope we're able to duplicate this success tomorrow.