It was Binbin's "audition" for kindergarten, and he was a bundle of nerves. The idea of interacting with complete strangers, possibly or quite probably apart from Mama and Baba, was terrifying. I coaxed him out of the car and into the hallway of the community K-5 school, but that was as far as I could get him for about 10 minutes. He occasionally forgot his fear as curiosity led him a few feet down one hallway, but we returned to our "nest" the bench. Fortunately, an experienced administrator gently suggested entering through a door adjacent to the kindergarten wing. I wasn't at all sure it would work...Binbin had even rejected a trip to Target as I desperately thought of ways to entice him (forcing him to go would have doomed the whole kindergarten thing). But, it did! Hurrah! An expert kindergarten teacher nudged him into the P.E. "testing room" (the tests consisted of throwing and catching a spongy ball, running and jumping), and once he had an activity (like a dog sighting a squirrel), he was as right as rain. As I spoke with teacher and nurse, Binbin was led through his paces: hearing test, eye test, small motor coordination, basic knowledge of colors, shapes, letters. Afterward, he denied all hesitation ("I was brave!"), but remembered the Target offer.
15 minutes later, we were finally on our way to preschool, with Space Police vehicle and Squidman in hand. Victory is ours.
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