Look Mama, I's in KINDI-GARTEN!

So...It's official. Gabe is now technically in school and will be for the next 13 years (he has been in preschool for 1 1/2 years but this is different). YEAY! I could not be happier (well, I guess I could. I wish kindergarten was ALL day....sigh). One down...... ??????? more to go!

Doesn't he look happy.





Gabe has been ready and waiting for this day to come since May. No tears were shed on either side as I left him in his classroom. "Bye Mom", was all that I got......and frankly, all that I needed.

Don't get me wrong. I love my child but I am so grateful that he is secure enough to be independent. Way to go Gabe.

All in all, it would have been the perfect day........if Gabe hadn't gotten lost. That's right....I said LOST. How does a one get lost at school, you ask? Well, it seems it's not so hard for child who tends to find himself in that situation more often than not.

During Gabe's orientation meeting we were told that half of the class would be busing and there were a record number of "parent pick-ups" (17). The routine would be to have the class line up, bused kids in the front and parent pick-ups in the back, and that the teacher's priority would be to get the kids on their correct buses first. Then the rest of the class would group together and wait for parents to arrive. I kind of had a gloom and doom feeling about that. Now I know why. Like I said, Gabe has a tendency to not only wander (in and out of lines) but to be quite distracted when instructions are given. Because of this I gave him careful warning about staying in line and following the teacher outside....no matter what..... so when Gabe got in the car and said that he had gotten lost.......I felt all panicky inside (but totally played it cool with him).

This is the story I got. He and Mikah (a cute little girl he sits by) were left in the classroom all by themselves. He said that the teacher called for all the bused kids to get in line and he and Mikah were the only ones not going on the bus so they stayed in the classroom while the teacher took the rest of the kids outside. He said that after a few minutes, Mikah's sister came and got her and then he was all alone. He waited a few more minutes and nobody came. So.......he decided to go outside, by himself, and find his teacher. "Don't worry Mom.....I found her."

Then began the interrogation.

Me: "Why did you stay in the classroom?"

Gabe: "Only the bused kids went with the teacher" "Mikah and me were the only ones waiting for our parents."

Me: "Gabe.....there were a ton of kids whose parents were supposed to pick them up...Where were they?"

Gabe: "NO....Mikah and I are the only ones. Everyone else goes on the bus."

Me:"Did your teacher tell you to line up?"

Gabe: "NO."

Me: "Did she tell you to stay in the class room?"

Gabe: "No."

Me: "Why did you go outside by yourself?"

Gabe: "Because I waited and nobody came"

You can imagine the flames coming out of my ears. Who is at fault here?.........I am almost positive the teacher would not leave children in the class by themselves.......Or would she?..........Oh, Gabe....why did you not listen?.........I swear she must have told them to line up too and typical Gabe, he didn't pay any attention to her.......What should I do?........Should I yell and scream at him?.......Should I yell and scream at her?...........What am I going to do?......What?.......What?

I ended up e-mailing her and, without accusing her of neglect, told her of my concerns (after acknowledging Gabe's tendency to wonder off and be in la-la land while instructions are being handed out). It turns out that a parent was in the room to help and they were supposed to follow up at the end of the line. She said that things were crazy (as they always are on the first day of school) and she totally apologized for dropping the ball. She said that today she will have another parent there and will keep a closer eye on Gabe until he learns the routine.

So.....do I trust either of them (Gabe or his teacher)?

I don't think so.

I am leaving in a few minutes to go to the school (1/2 hour early) so that I can watch for myself how things are handled.

I may not cry about being parted from my child for only a few hours of the day but I would hate to think about him being lost forever (unless it was a day like yesterday......then, and only then, do I fantasize about it.......for just a bit........SIGH!).