Tab's First Day of Preschool

Tab had his first day of preschool today. I know that it is a very odd time of year to start, but someone dropped out and he was next on the waiting list! He is attending the part day afternoon Head Start program. Here he is all dressed and ready to go for school. He kept insisting that he needed to have a backpack but they told us not to send one because they won't use it.I was planning to take him and pick him up today, but the bus showed up and he wanted to ride it. So I took him outside and he got on the bus and never looked back. (My camera battery had died at this point, so I was a little sad about not getting any pictures of this.) I went inside and put Benton down for a nap and it kind of settled in. I thought I was ready for this, but I was sooooo not ready. I was especially not ready for him to just climb on the bus like a big boy with not a single fuss or concerned glance that he knew nobody on the bus. I guess that is because he has no concept of stranger danger. I got a little sad. He is growing up and I'm not ready for that. I have to admit that I got a little teary eyed.

As it approached time for him to get home, I was anxiously awaiting him. I was so excited to see what he thought and how he did, and, and and... So when the bus pulled up I ran out with my camera. They are so good to pull right into our driveway. (By the way, this was my one beef and probably isn't a big deal, but his coat wasn't zipped up and it was freaking cold outside.)
And another cute picture of him getting off of the bus.
When he got inside, he ran straight to the cupboard like a ravenous wolf. He pulled out a bag of arborio rice that I had in there and was eating it raw. The poor kid was starving. (They feed him lunch and a snack.) Perhaps it was the long day at school? I tried to get him to tell me what he did at school and he kept saying he didn't know and just wanted to go to bed. I noticed black paint on his finger and he said that they painted reindeer bodies. Other than that, I have no idea what they did. I just know the kid was starved and exhausted and a crank for the rest of the night. This is what I am most worried about. The bus picks him up around 11:15-11:30. He usually goes down for a nap at 11:00 for 2 hours. I'm hoping he either adjusts to all of the sudden not having a nap or that we can figure out some other napping/sleeping schedule. Because I don't know if I can handle him like this every night and I feel bad for him being so exhausted.