Dear Callum,

You’re a preschooler now.  It’s a big step up from being a “homer,” as Miles called you.  I was a little worried about how you’d do—it was your first time in any school or childcare environment.  I couldn’t think of a time in your entire life when you’d been completely without a family member.  Even when we’ve had babysitters in the past, you’ve always had at least one brother with you.  Really, I was pleased with how well you did.  You were a tiny bit reluctant to go in the first day, and I was afraid you’d be one of the criers at drop-off time, but you weren’t.

Your teachers seem wonderful, so that’s made a big difference.  One great thing they did was a home visit the week before school started.  You had a lot of fun playing with Ms. Dee, one of your assistant teachers, while your dad and I talked to your lead teacher.  When the first day of school came around, Ms. Dee saw you approaching and hurried right up to you and gave you a big hug.  You’re not a big hugger of strangers, typically, but you remembered her.  I doubt you would have run up and hugged her of your own volition, but her warmth was overwhelming, and you were soon ready to jump right in.

I get daily reports of your areas of activity, and you seem to mostly favor the Dramatic Play and Blocks & Cars centers.  You’ve also gotten interested in the Science center lately.  Your teacher also mentioned at drop-off the other day that you’ve been playing well with your classmates.  I bet it’s new and interesting for you to play with other kids your age.  Outside of school, you usually play with your big brothers or park friends, most of whom are a bit younger than you.

You also started swimming lessons last night.  Because it is my duty to fret, I was fretting that adding that in would be too many new things at once in your world.  But really, the timing seems pretty good.  You’ve gotten the hang of being more than four feet away from a family member, so getting into the pool with a teacher was no big deal.  I didn’t go to your swimming lesson—it conflicted with Back to School Night, so Miles and I went up to school while you and Tobin and your dad did activities at the Rec Center.  Tobin has taekwondo on the same night, so it’s handy in that respect, but it does make for a busy evening.

Miles was interested in exploring your classroom and learning about what you do during the day.  We tried out the light board in the science center, and your teacher was interested to hear about the science experiment you and Miles did together the other day (the magic of vinegar and baking soda).  I think she can tell that you have a team of people who will always have your back.

You are usually pretty honest about your feelings.  When the dentist asked you if you were excited about preschool, you said, “Not really.”  That was before you started, though, and your fear of the unknown has shifted into enjoyment.  You’re also good at articulating the specifics of your displeasure.  You tipped a dining room chair backward recently.  I was able to catch it well enough to slow but not completely stop its descent, so it wasn’t clear whether your tears were from an injury or just emotional turmoil.  When I asked you, “Are you hurt or just scared?” you could explain to me that you were just scared.  That really helps focus my triage efforts.

The various scrapes of playground life (and your incessant need to run, even downhill, even on sidewalks littered with roly-poly acorns) have given you some interesting scabs.  You can’t seem to stop knocking them off, whether by accident or by picking.  We’ve gone through a lot of Band-Aids lately.  A knocked-off scab bleeds a lot, which is more visually than physically upsetting, but your ability to identify the source of your tumult comes in handy for that situation too.  Language development is such a powerful thing in so many ways, and I really appreciate how I’m getting a better understanding of your inner world.

I’ve been enjoying our mornings and Thursdays together.  It’s nice to ease into school with a part-time program that still allows us a good amount of Mommy/Callum time.  One of your favorite things is doing a baking project together, which we do now and then as a special morning treat.  On the very first day of school, you requested chocolate cake.  You woke up early enough that day that it was a feasible request, and we happened to have just enough ingredients for a one-layer version of Grammy’s special chocolate cake recipe.  It’s not the breakfast you usually have, but it was a nice way to spend some time together doing an activity before you headed off.

Your current favorites:  Nature Cat (a PBS Kids show), Minecraft (emulating Miles, of course), pepperoni pizza, steak (both to eat and to play with in the preschool play kitchen), being outside, and sleeping in.  This can make for some frustrating nights when your big brothers have to go to bed early in preparation for school the next day and you’re still flopping around like a fish in the bottom bunk.  Once you get to sleep, though, you’ve been sleeping well lately.  In fact, I should go wake you up now, because it’s almost 9:30.

I hope preschool continues to go as well as it has been, my little sweetheart.  You’re becoming such a big boy, I can hardly stand it.  I’m so proud of how well you’re handling the new challenges you’re facing.

Love,

Mommy