Hunter's First Week of Kindergarten is Done

We're done with our first week of school. Hunter had a half day with me on Wednesday, an early our on Thursday and a full day on Friday. As I said in Hunter's kindergarten post, he left for school on Thursday morning via the bus, and was so focused on getting on the bus that he didn't say good-bye or at least look back and wave. I was a little heartbroken! But that was nothing compared to after school.

JP came with me to pick Hunter up at the bus stop after school. We walked across the street so I could get a couple pictures of him getting off the bus. (I was going to get some of him getting on the bus in the morning, but I was busy talking with my neighbor that I opted to not cut our conversation short. Plus I had Charlotte with me.) As soon as he got off the bus, he took off down the road towards home with a neighbor boy. He was very anxious to play with him, but his friend had to go home and ask him mom if he could play first, and I made sure Hunter came home to tell me about his day and to at least drop his backpack off. I didn't get much out of him as, "I have to be outside and ready to play when Devin comes out!" 

But Devin never came out to play. I offered up reasons to Hunter as to why he probably couldn't play, but Hunter insisted on waiting in their driveway longer. In perfect timing, two other neighbor girls, who are the same age, came out of one house and ran to the others house. Hunter asked them if he could play, but was turned down. Shortly after, another girl and her younger brother, who is JP's age, were just getting home, and they couldn't play either. I felt terrible for him!! All he wanted to do was play with someone and no one could or wanted to play with him. 

We went inside as a meltdown was happening since Devin still wasn't coming out to play. We sat on his bed together and he cried and cried. I can't tell you how many times he said, "I just want to play with Devin." My heart hurt for him. I asked him about school again and if he met anyone. He didn't. I asked him who he sat with on the bus going to school. "Nobody." How about on the way home? "I had to sit with myself cuz nobody wanted to sit with me." I believe it was at that point that we both were crying. I could completely relate to how he was feeling. Rejected and friendless. He cried for quite a while and it just broke my heart!

Other than after school, I got the feeling that he did enjoy school though. I thought they had PE on Thursdays, so I asked him if he got to go to the gym and play. "No." Why not? "I didn't behave good enough to go." Oh...What happened? "I was playing with some of Ms. Lubke's stuff." And she asked you not to? "Yeah..." Turns out they didn't even have PE, because PE is on Fridays so I'm not sure what happened there but he reassured me that, "I only got in trouble two times. Just two times." Oh good! He mentioned that they painted though - that I can believe!

Friday morning, Aunt Bobby and a friend of hers walked Hunter down to the bus and again I didn't get a good-bye wave or something similar. And Nanny and Papa were waiting at the bus stop when he got home. He got off the bus and ran straight to Charli, as she was waving frantically from her stroller saying "hi" but ignored the rest of us and walked home holding his neighbors hand.

At bed time, he expressed how much he wasn't liking kindergarten. It's not what he was expecting. I think once he's gets to know the others in his class and what's expected of him, he'll come around. He was sure to note that he didn't get in trouble at all either!