31 Aug
Preschool Issues Already?
Last night was orientation for preschool. Preschool starts on Tuesday and orientation was just for parents to explain the curriculum, policies and how the schedule works. That kind of thing. I was really happy with how it went. And yes, this is technically preschool, but it’s still the same place that he’s been going to for 4 or 5 days a week since he was 13 months old. He loves it there. Everyone there loves him. This should not be a big deal. But it is. At least to me. My oldest baby is headed to preschool. I’m excited and happy and nervous and proud and scared all at the same time.
The teachers are great. I loved them the minute they started talking. They are both experienced and obviously care about what they are doing. They did a great job explaining the curriculum and what the kids would learn during the year and how they would start the school year. They really focus on name recognition, which we have already been working on with Jack. By the end of the year, they should be writing (or at a minimum tracing) their own names. I really am in love with what they will be doing and how they will be doing it.
There’s just one problem. When preschool starts on Tuesday, Jack won’t be there. He will still be in the 2 year old room. When Jack transitioned to the two year old room, we were told that he would transition to the 3 year old room in September, for the beginning of the school year. Weeks ago we got a letter in the mail stating that school started September 6. Last night at orientation, it was announced that the kids with birthdays in October, November, and December wouldn’t be starting school with the rest of the class. There was talk of ratios and wanting the kids to be able to celebrate their birthdays in the 2 year old room. Frankly, I could care less about the birthday celebration. I get ratios. I know that they are legally obligated to maintain certain ratios and I appreciate that. I just don’t want my kid to suffer because of a ratio issue.
I’m not really worried about the “academics”, if you will. Jack is smart and will catch on and catch up. I’m worried that this entire class will be getting started without him. For a whole month the other kids will have a chance to become acclimated to the rules, the teachers, the schedule all the while he will be spending the majority of his time in the 2 year old room. They will be working on transitioning him over the next month but he still will mostly be with the younger kids.
I’m worried that if there is a ratio issue this year, in all likelihood there will be a ratio issue for each of the next two years and he will never have the opportunity to start the school year off with his class. His friends will be moving up on time and without him every year only to have him join them late. I’m not cool with that. Not even a little bit.
Part of me just feels like they are robbing him of the “First day of preschool” experience that all the other kids are going to have. Sure he’ll have his first day, but to the teachers and everyone else, it will just be another day. No hype, no excitement. He deserves the hype and the excitement.
And of course the big question is what now? I had mistakenly assumed that the school was already working on transitioning him. They were not. He has spent less than 10 minutes in the three year old room. He is exceptionally attached to the teacher in his current room. He is not sufficiently prepared (in my opinion) to go to the 3 year old room on Tuesday. But, that’s where I feel that he belongs. So what do I do?
Do I leave things be? Just let them start him in the classroom an entire month late? Do I request that he start on time? Or is the best case to request that he be transitioned more quickly? That he be in the room on Tuesday morning when they make a big deal of it being the first day of preschool along with the quicker transition?
What would you do? Or am I just being “THAT MOM” and making a big deal out of something that doesn’t really matter.
This work, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Although the lack of transition could be an issue, in my experience it hasn’t been. We pulled J out of her previous daycare at this point and put her in a brand new place at preschool so she had zero transition and adapted quickly. I am not a fan of the transition process especially when it takes a month, once kids see the next level up they never want to go back to the “baby room”. 1 week is plenty of time to transition. Good luck with your decision.
I’m with you on this one. It seems that bringing kids into a classroom a month later would be so much more disruptive. I’m surprised that’s how the school wants to handle it. I say: You are Jack’s best advocate, and you should trust your gut. Do what you need to to get him into the 3-year-old room and class at the earliest possibly date. Yeah, the school will see you as THAT mom for a bit, but if you’re not always THAT mom (and I doubt you are), then you have to trust your instincts on this one. Plus, if you advocate for him now, you probably won’t face this issue again I’m thinking. Good Luck!!
I would try to get him into the class early. I totally agree with the “first day” thing – it;s crazy to have him miss out on it just because his birthday is a month or so too late. Plus – this kids will have have an established routine, friends, etc and he will have to come in as the new kid. It makes no sense. Don’t worry about being “that mom” because sometimes that mom is exactly who our kids need us to be.