For the past 2-3 weeks I've been tweeting and posting about my
It got me thinking. Is preschool everything that it's hyped up to be? I mean, there's Montessori, play-based, Reggio Emilia, religious based, junior kindergarten...the list could go on and on. I'm sure there are others that I just didn't happen to stumble upon. I personally didn't attend preschool, and neither did my husband, and I think we turned out okay {if I may say so myself!}. Is preschool just a cash grab for poor, unsuspecting parents who only want what is best for their child{ren}?
Well that's just it! We all want what's best for our children and we all want them to succeed. In our case, it came down us wanting Lil J to be around kids, build on his socialization skills, and help him learn up to his full potential. It was also Mommy feeling guilty that she didn't have 100% of her time focused on her son when there was a newborn crying to be fed 24/7. And sometimes, she just needed a break. Even if it was only for 2 hours and 45 minutes a day.
Lil J is going to preschool five days a week for those 2 hours and 45 minutes. I would have preferred him to go for only three days but the preschool we chose only had a four or five day option. We ended up settling on a Montessori after visiting around five different preschools. I made sure that Lil J was with me at every single one of those visits just so he could feel out the environment himself and the last school we checked out seemed to be the perfect one. It was also the one that was furthest from our house. Only the best for Lil J!
So far, the drop-offs tend to be the hardest part. Since we're only on day two, the separation anxiety is still kicking in. On the first day I ended up leaving after five minutes because Lil J was super clingy, hit a kid that accidentally head-butted him and just straight up told me he didn't want to be there. Learning from our previous experience at daycare, I knew the only way I could get Lil J to be comfortable was for me to just leave. That was hard.
But then it gets easier. I called the teacher 15 minutes after I left him on the first day and low & behold, Lil J was doing just fine! The only challenge for me is to get him excited about school. Right now he tells me that he doesn't want to go back. I tell him his best friend also goes to preschool and he tells me he wants to go to his best friend's preschool. I tell him that all of his friends are going to preschool and he says "not me!". It's like an uphill battle that I'll never win...except I will. You'll see.
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| Outtakes! |
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| After school posing |
Cue the waterworks.
Did your child have his/her first day of preschool recently? How did
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This summer my son started at preschool 3 afternoons a week. It was probably the best preschool hands down. Then we got a phone call saying we had been accepted into a brand new Jr K with the same group. So far I'm not loving it and am feeling a bit torn about my choice to switch places. My son adored the last teacher and I loved her style of teaching. Trying to adapt and remember this is just preschool!!
ReplyDeleteI think we as moms do put a little too much thought in preschool but we also want what's best for our kids, so it's only natural to feel that way. Does this JK have the same teachers as the preschool? How does Ben like his new JK? I'm sure he's having a blast playing with his friends every day :)
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