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MARCH
2003
- THE LEAP TO PRESCHOOL
I've been struggling with the decision to enter Simon into preschool
for about a year. Last year at this time he was 2.5 years old. "Everyone"
told me I'd better get him signed up now (in the Spring) for the following
Fall. I ruffled through the phone books for preschools in my area. I
live in the boonies, so there are a few to choose from but nothing really
struck me. I was pregnant last year and knew that when Simon entered
preschool in the Fall I'd have a 3 month old to take care of also. I
could not envision getting out of the house in any kind of timely fashion
between nursing, diaper changing, more nursing, blow-outs, etc. Plus,
there was no guarantee that Simon would be potty proficient by then
either. Oh the stress...Oh the worry...Oh FORGET IT! And that's what
I did. I decided it wasn't good timing and I'd reassess around Christmas.
It wasn't just the thought of my hectic life with a newborn that kept
me from registering. I don't think I was emotionally ready to let go
of my kid. I couldn't imagine him without me (although I'd dream of
it sometimes!) I was just enjoying him so much I didn't want to lose
precious time with him away from me.
So, whatcha know - it is Spring again and Simon is a year older and
a lot has changed. His brother Carter is 10 months old, crawling around
and eating solids foods 3x a day. Simon is certainly a potty pro by
now and hasn't had an accident for months. He can get dressed and undressed
by himself and even put on his one piece-zipper pull pj's on by himself.
His verbiage is more impressive every day and his sense of humor is
really budding.
So I started looking into preschools again. I didn't get very far in
the process before my friend Stella told me that there was one at my
local elementary school...only 7 minutes away! Stella is a kindergarten
teacher at another elementary school in the same district and her school
has a similar preschool program. What is interesting about this preschool
is that is it especially trained for special education - physical and/or
emotional needs. In addition to the kids with special needs, it also
welcomes kids with no special needs, which they call "typical role
models", which is where Simon falls into.
After a visit to the school, which is actually in a classroom at the
elementary school that Simon will eventually attend, I was hooked. There
is one teacher and two aids in there at all times and certain days they
have additional specialists who help the kids with physical challenges
in addition to challenging the "typical" ones too. All the
curriculum can be modified and adapted to meet the needs of all. The
ages range from 3-5 so some kids may be recognizing letters and others
may be reading. There are also classroom pets including 2 gerbils, a
rabbit and a fish.
I was all prepared to sign him up for the Fall when the teacher told
me there were openings right now! And then of course all the kids currently
enrolled have first dibs for the Fall. Well, I was so enthused I signed
him up to start the following week. Now all I had to do was tell Simon...
I'd been prepping him for months. "Eventually, you'll be going
to preschool. Did you know that your friends Yakov, Isaac, and Evelyn
go to preschool? Wow, you get to just like them!" He seemed 50/50
on the idea. Some days he was enthused, other days he said he wasn't
interested. When I got the lead from Stella, I stepped up my verbal
campaign. "I think I found a preschool for you. We are going to
check it out and see what kind of cool toys they have there." After
I signed him up, I took him to visit. I was worried he would be holding
onto my leg the entire time and not make eye contact with anyone. Boy
was I surprised. After, oh, one minute in the classroom he ventured
off by himself and started discovering all the new cool stuff. After
an hour I told him we needed to go home and check on Daddy and Carter
(who were home sick) and he told me "I HATE going home!" Wow,
that was a new one. Now I had to think of a bribe to get him back home!
We spent the weekend talking about how interesting and fun preschool
would be and then I realized I forgot to mention to him that I wouldn't
be staying with him. Oops, an oversight. "Hey Simon, did you know
I'll be dropping you off at preschool - staying for 5 or 10 minutes
and then I'll leave and pick you up when school is over." And then
before he could think about it to much, I gave him some ownership and
asked "How many minutes would you like me to stay? 5 or 10?"
Oddly enough he said 5 and he knows that 10 is longer. I said "groovy"
and a deal was made. Up until this point, he has only stayed with close
friends or family - no daycare, no babysitter, no nuthin. I was just
dreading how my slow-to-warm-up kid would do with a room full of strangers.
The big day arrived and I'm sure I was more nervous and excited than
he was. We got to the classroom and the teacher greeted him, bending
down on her knees so she was at his eye level. We hung up his jacket
in "his" cubby - it already was adorned with his name and
then he went to the table to find a cutout person with his name on it.
He was very excited to find one with his name. The kids then put their
cutout on the dry-erase board so everyone knows who has shown up for
school. He played around a little, then all the kids jumped into chairs
for "circle-time". I got a hug and a kiss and faded into the
back of the classroom to watch. They started with a special show and
tell, a classmate had brought her dog and all the kids were wide eyed
and taking turns petting it. I decided slip out. The moment I closed
the door and walked down the hall I looked at Carter. He'd been on my
hip in the sling the entire time. "I miss him already," I
told Carter.
As hoped for, he loves preschool. Little Mr. Independent has taken a
leap and I'm so proud of him. I also look at him differently now, like
he isn't my little boy anymore, he's my big boy. So wise and mature
at times, especially in comparison to his baby brother! But even just
comparing him to himself, he is growing up just right. He isn't the
only one that is benefiting from preschool. In the 7 days he has attended
so far, I've received a styrofoam leaf, cupcake holder flowers, and
a noodle tree. Doesn't get any better than this!
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