First Week At Nursery

Last week was a big week here.  Little Chaos began settling sessions in his new nursery. After the huge upset he had suffered from his old nursery,  this was a big thing for all of us.  I was very aware that he may not be totally ready to take on another setting just yet as his behaviour at home was showing signs of boredom,  I had little choice but to give it a whirl.

I wrote about his first session in my last post.  His next session was on Wednesday  for two hours.  The idea I was to stay for a little while then leave him for an hour or so to see how he got on.  I felt this was a little soon concidering all he went through at the old nursery and that he was still a little shaky about staying on his own.

This time we  went in the afternoon and the children were just sittiing down to have their afternoon snack- perfect!  Chaos and Squish sat down at the table with the other children and were offered a slice of pear and a rice cake.  Squish took both with a thank you but Chaos said "no thank you" to the pear as he isn't a fan. This made me feel quite confident that he would settle well as he felt able to express himself,  which he didn't in his old nursery. After snack they all had sun cream put on them and got ready to go to the big play area.  All the classes meet up in the afternoon to play together.

The place is amazing! Obviously,  I couldnt take photos but there is a big grass area with wooden obsticle course,  tyres,  a slide,  rabbits to look at and an army camouflage tent!  Needless to say the boys loved it.  Squish was off to the slide and climbing wall.  Chaos was a bit more reserved and stayed closer to me.  He played in the mud kitchen and the sand pit.  The rabbits were moved to their grass run so both boys had the chance to stroke them. They were in their element.

Suddenly,  I remembered I was supposed to be leaving him.  Looking at my watch I realised it was 20 minutes before the end of his settling session! We had all had a lovely time and felt totally at home there.  I spoke to the manager and we decided to have a longer session the next day from 10 -  2pm and that Chaos would stay for lunch.  Eeeeeek!!!

On the way home we went to buy some "special goodies"  for his packed lunch the next day.  I made sure I was very enthusiastic and positive as I didn't want to worry him at all.  He seemed a little nervous at first but was very excited about having a packed lunch,  especially when I said he would be a big boy like Daddy and Big!

Thursday dawned and I felt quite nervous.  I really hoped we had done enough for him to feel confident in staying on his own.  He seemed quite excited when we got up and the first thing he did downstairs was get his lunchbox out!  He had a little wobble when he realised the Squish wouldn't be having a packed lunch too.  I quietly said that Squish wasn't big enough to have packed lunches yet as he isn't as big as Chaos.  That pleased him greatly.

Ready to go!

We got to the nursery and he almost skipped out of the car.  He wanted to carry his change bag and his lunch.  They both ran through the gate and over to his room.  I loved his eagerness but was also a little surprised by it.  We found a peg with his name on.  The previous boy was leaving so Chaos would inherit his peg as they shared the same name.  We all sat down and played with some building blocks so he felt a bit more at ease.  The other children were having their sun cream put on ready to go outside so I put some on Chaos to save tbem a job.  

Outside he played with a vehicle made out of wooden pallets. Its big enough for several children to sit in and it can be anything they like.  The male key worker came over and asked Chaos questions about what his vehicle was and where he was going.  He asked Chaos if he wanted to play in the water tray so Chaos went over with him.  He asked if Chaos wouls like to help him refill the water tray with the hose. Chaos was at his side in a flash so I took that as a cue to leave.  Chaos said "goodbye as if he went there every day! I had a peek at him from across the playground, he saw me and waved then went back to what he was doing. 

I went to my sisters for a cuppa.  As I sat down she asked how I was.  I don't know why but it just made me cry! I realised then how worried about him I had been.  It all came spilling out.  I was also a bit overwhelmed by how much he trusted me not to leave him in another place where he would be unhappy. It felt like we had overcome a huge hurdle and done it well. I realise it was his first stay but it was the biggest step of all.  

How was he when I picked him up? Well,  he was pleased to see me but he didn't make a big rush to get out. He told me he had a sticker for sitting on the toilet and another one for being "Super good!" The key worker told me he had been really good and didn't cry at all.  Such a relief! On the way to the car Chaos asked if he could come for lunch another day.  I could have punched the air!! I have no major concerns about him going anymore as he clearly loves it.  Just goes to show how unhappy he was at the other nursery.  I am so glad we took the leap of faith and moved him.  It has certainly paid off.