27/01/2011

Belated first day of preschool roundup

Asher's first day went really well - we couldn't have asked for more - but since Monday I've been overwhelmed with heat, cranky kids, a proposal for some paid work, a lovely wedding of a dear friend and more heat, so I haven't had time to update. Now we are sitting quietly inside, Asher is eating toast and watching some really random kids show, Kiz is in bed (Me: Kizzie, do you want some more toast or do you want to go to bed? Kiz: Bed! ...and the poor tired hot kid toddles toward his bedroom) and I'm meant to be working on a proposal.

Anyway, to cut to the chase, we love the place and feel like we should have sent him there earlier. We like the teachers and we like the focused vibe of the place and more importantly, Asher already seems happier there than at his previous childcare.

We all went together to drop Asher at preschool for the first time. We hung around for about half an hour, bumping into two people we know and chatting with Asher's teacher and when we left he seemed pretty happy. He was digging a hole to see how deep the sandpit was, and what was on the bottom. When I arrived to pick him up he was happily playing a board game with a teacher and a few other kids. They all seemed to be quietly concentrating. He was pleased to see me, but not overly so. Unfortunately the next few days were tough. I think the stress of the change had got to him somewhat and I dealt with sub-tantrum wailing of the pathetically unreasonable variety on-and-off for two days.

I'm looking forward to seeing what next week, when he'll be there for three days, brings...

23/01/2011

Preparation for Preschool

Tomorrow my 4.5 year old has his first ever day of preschool. He's been in childcare for a while but this is different. He will take his own lunch, he needs to be more responsible for his own belongings and, most importantly,  there is a very different focus. At childcare the focus is on keeping the children safe and more-or-less occupied whereas preschool is unashamedly a place for learning skills for school. This is what he's looking forward to at preschool. He happily tells people that they have 'two group times' (group time at childcare was as close as they got to 'lesson time') but of course he is still anxious about the change. I'm anxious about the change too - school hours, school holidays, having to pack lunch and turn up punctually for drop-offs and pick-ups all add to the difficulty. If I didn't think this was a very important move I certainly wouldn't have bothered.

It's been a tough few months for us. While my Asher is finally getting more social and outgoing, he is also becoming harder to deal with, wilder and harder to settle. I think this is because he needs more balance in his daily activities. At the moment he climbs trees, rides his scooter and plays cricket with his dad and plays happily either by himself or with friends but what is lacking for him is more formal instruction. For some kids this might not matter as much at this age but for my son it does. Asher is a bright kid and he thirsts for knowledge, so I feel that this will be a great move for him but the settling in period could be tough for all of us. I'll try and let you know how it goes tomorrow.