Today Wild Man and Bear started the first in a series of day camps. Wild Man was excited. He anticipated seeing old friends (he went to the same program last year), and he was really excited to make new friends. He happily put his lunch box in his back pack, let me put sunscreen on him, and climbed into the car. Bear, well, Bear was more hesitant. You see, to prepare him for JK, Archer and I decided to take him out of daycare (the same daycare he's been attending since he was 6 months old) and send him to day camp with Wild Man. We've been talking about this with him for months, and some days he is really excited. Other days, not so much.
Yesterday, Bear helped me label all his things, and he told me what he wanted in his lunch box. We made a special trip to the store so he could pick out containers that he can open easily. We discussed how he needed to make all his food last for both lunch and afternoon snack. Wild Man assured Bear that he would help him. We talked about how all the kids get to go swimming in the afternoon, and I showed him where I put his towel and suit. He said he didn't want to go swimming, and Archer assured him that was okay. I said, we'll tell your camp teacher. You can sit out and watch the other kids till you're more comfortable. He seemed okay with that. In fact, he seemed okay until we got to camp. Wild Man, who is our social guy, quickly found three kids he knew, and he found a spot where he could sit with Bear. He encouraged Bear to sit beside him, and he even offered to hold his hand. Bear, however, was having none of it. I literally had to peel him off of me. I took him to a quiet spot and reminded him that his teachers have my phone number and his dad's. I also reminded him that we're only 5 minutes away (the day camps are held on CU's campus) and that his dad was going to have lunch with them today. He told me that he didn't want to go and refused to let go of me. Finally, one of the teachers, a very nice young man, came over and introduced himself to Bear. He told Bear how much fun they were going to have, and then he took Bear from me, who started crying at that point. I hugged him one more time, and then Archer and I left. As we drove away, we saw Bear sitting in his teacher's lap trying not to cry, while Wild Man rubbed his back.
I'm struggling to get any work done this morning as I keep thinking about Bear. He does not handle new situations well, which is precisely why we wanted him to go to camp to prepare for JK. I hope that the day improves for him, and that he grows to like camp. I'm worrying about next Monday because the boys are in different programs starting next week. Really, I just want to go find my kid and hug him. I really hate it when I know I've made the right decision for my child, but that decision makes my child upset.
2 comments:
Reading this, my first thought was what a great big brother Wild Man is. I hope Bear did ok.
Archer and I were so proud of both of them yesterday. When we picked Bear up, he declared "I had a good day!" And he did. He managed snack time and lunch time all by himself. He opted not to go swimming during swim time, but apparently a few other kids didn't want to swim either. One of the counsellors sat out with them, and they played a game. Wild Man kept track of him all day and even helped him keep his stuff together. Bear was a little upset at drop off again this morning, but as we drove away, we saw him talking happily to the counsellor.
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