Preschool Week #1

As the end of August approached, I started looking forward to the girls starting preschool again. In my previous post, I mentioned that the summer had its challenges. As much as I love my children, some separation was needed for all of us.

The 3-morning preschool program filled up fast so we ended up signing the girls up for the 5-morning program. In the end, we realized that the 5-morning program would probably make the transition into full day kindergarten next year a little bit easier. Plus, they loved school last year (2-mornings per week).

When the girls finished up in June, it seemed as though they would be with their same two teachers again come September. They adored them and so did I. As the summer days counted down, I started talking to the girls about school. From experience, I've learned that my kids need lots of preparation for something new. We talk about it and they express their fears and/or excitement. We would talk about how those feelings are ok, but then spin it into a positive discussion. When we arrived at school last Tuesday morning, we were greeted at the door and given the names of the girls two teachers. I did not know either of them and Teagan immediately started to cry, asking for her teachers from last year. It turned out some changes had been made towards the end of the summer. I was disappointed that the school had not informed us of the change. Day one at any school is chaotic, but when you add crying 2 and 3-year olds with separation anxiety to the mix, it makes things even more challenging. I ended up speaking with the director mid-morning. I expressed my disappointment and said that it would have been helpful if we had been informed of the change and offered an opportunity to meet the new teachers before chaotic day one. For a 3-year old, this can make all the difference.

We dealt with a few other issues on day one, but then as I suspected, things calmed down. We had not had a single issue for the entire 2013-2014 school year so I hoped that these issues would be one offs. Sure enough, the week got much better. On Friday, Teagan even told me that I needed to pick them up later so that she had more time on the playground.

And with two happy kids at school, this mommy feels so grateful to have the mornings free to get things done. The dogs can be walked, I can work out, the laundry won't pile up (hopefully!) and lots of yummy soups, muffins and other cooking creations will be made.