Tantrums at Daycare

We  just  moved  2  weeks  ago.  New  house,  new  town,  new  everything.  Our  son  is  4  and  has  adapted  extremely  well  to  the  changes.  He  has  been  sleeping  through  the  night  since  day  one.  He  just  has  a  bit  of  disorientation  when  he  tries  to  find  the  bathroom  at  night.  We  were  so  happy  and  were  assured  that  our  months  of  preparing  him  had  paid  off.  We  have  however  come  across  a  big  problem  with  his  daycare  routine  and  I  don't  have  any  idea  what  to  do  about  it.  In  7  out  of  9  days  he's  gone  into  extreme  tantrums  in  the  mornings  when  dropped  off  for  daycare.  He  seems  to  really  enjoy  being  there  and  when  I  pick  him  up  after  work,  he  can't  wait  to  go  back.  But  when  I  get  him  close  to  that  front  door  each  day,  he  becomes  a  child  that  I  don't  recognize.  He  is  normally  so  good  natured  and  happy,  so  it's  really  hard  to  see  him  screaming  and  kicking  and  grabbing  onto  me  like  his  life  depends  on  it.  We've  given  him  his  "kitty"  to  snuggle  with  and  tried  to  tempt  him  with  after  school  treats  and  activities,  but  nothing  seems  to  work.  The  last  few  days,  my  husband  and  I  have  both  dropped  him  off  at  the  same  time  as  an  experiment,  but  that  didn't  work  either.  I  go  to  work  crying  every  day  because  I  hate  leaving  him  like  that.  Frustration  doesn't  even  begin  to  cover  it.  Are  there  any  suggestions  out  there?  I  know  there  has  to  be  a  light  ahead,  but  right  now,  I  certainly  can't  see  it.  How  long  should  this  last?  He  was  in  his  previous  public  daycare  for  2  years  with  no  issue.  This  daycare  is  private  but  there  are  8  other  kids  there.  I  know  he's  taking  on  a  lot  of  changes  at  once.  Is  this  just  something  we  have  to  wait  out,  or  can  we  do  something  more  to  help  him  through  this?  Thanks

[Sandman2]

    I can understand your concern, it really hurts to leave you child like that.  
   What do the daycare teachers say he does after he gets there?  Does he quiet down fairly soon and start playing?  Or does he keep crying for another hour and stay quiet and depressed the rest of the day?
   If the teachers say that he returns to normal fairly soon, then I think this should soon pass.  Some other posters may have ideas of things that you could do in the morning to help the transition.    
  If the teachers say that he is quiet and depressed for a greater part of the day, I would take a half day off work and observe the daycare in operation (not when you drop him off, but later in the day).  In fact, after about 7 more days, if he is still crying at the door - I would be tempted to also do an observation of the daycare (even if the teachers say he is very happy shortly after you drop him off.)
  If I remember correctly some kindergarten kids would carry on for about two weeks before they finally became used to the separation.
   By the way, ask the teacher if he has made any friends yet (he may not have had the time), and have the friend meet him at the door.    Or try and have a couple of the kids greet him at the door or on the path to escort him in.  Hope this helps.  Good luck!