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.

3 comments:

muser said...

Good luck! You'll be fine. Allow plenty of getting ready time, if you can. I really enjoy the routine that school terms bring.

Madeline said...

How'd he go? How many days will he be going? I'm wondering what to do with Lil next year when she's 4.5. She's in the preschool room at daycare now (2 days) and it is run like preschool, we pack lunch etc and has the daycare long hours so I will probably keep her there. Esp. if I go back to work and Ed starts going there too. I think we're leaning away from her starting school at 4.5.

Unknown said...

Madeline, after just one day I miss those long hours - pickup time overlaps with Kiran's sleep time which is going to suck until we get into some kind of routine. I think there is also a lot to be said for having both kids in the one place, when that is possible.