A Child's Way

 Isaiah did his last year of preschool at A Child's Way.  I'm not really a big believer in preschool; I think kids can learn what they need to at home and with other activities with children.  But Jerel and I were concerned about Zay transitioning into Kindergarten and we felt a more formal preschool program would be helpful for him.  The beginning of the year was a bit rough, with lots of crying fits and wanting me to stay with him the whole time, but by the end he was doing great.

 Here's a picture of him "graduating."  The school (which we loved) kept it very casual and low-key, which I appreciated because jeez louise, kids don't need a big ceremony for every little thing they do!  We selected this preschool after way too much research and way too many visits to other preschools around town.  I had heard of this preschool from an old friend whose girls I used to teach in gymnastics.  Luckily, the school has some sort of fancy accreditation, which helped get Jerel on board.  I also liked their philosophy regarding problem solving.  And I liked that they weren't also a daycare.  A lot of those places that do daycare, and many of them that offer "full-day" preschool end up being too daycare-ish for me.  I still struggle with the whole concept that kids learn from playing; I was pretty much looking for a preschool that would challenge Isaiah academically--chapter books, math worksheets, and the like.  Luckily those don't exist (except probably in China).  The social/emotional development was what he needed anyway and I was very happy with the progress he made here.

 Zay refused to pose with his teachers, but Eliza was happy to.  Oyen Kennedy (on the right) was the lead teacher in his class and Pat Herzog was the other teacher.  Pat ended up spending a bit more time with Isaiah than Oyen did because Oyen would be leading the class in circle time, which left Pat to handle a sometimes screaming Isaiah.  Seriously, one time I left him literally kicking and screaming.  I left calmly, reminding him I would return, and then went out in the car and cried.

The teachers were great not just with the kids, but also with the parents.  Each day they had something to say to each parent about their child, which impressed me.  They were also super patient with me as I figured out how to be a mom to a preschooler.  If I asked for advice ("should I just leave him kicking and screaming, or stay until he calms down?") they would offer it.  If I didn't, they were happy to work with whatever method I was trying that day.  I remember those lingering parents from when I taught gymnastics--I always wanted to just shoo them away because I knew as soon as they left their kid would be fine. But when it came to be my own kid it was a bit harder.  But I never sensed any impatience from Pat and Oyen and I'm thankful for that.

They were also so welcoming of Eliza and I.  The first time I volunteered, I asked if I could bring Eliza with me.  Oyen said it would be okay if I tried it, but that they hadn't had much luck with it working well in the past.  But I figured probably most parents who volunteered didn't have a younger sibling as old as Eliza, since most parents seem to like a bit more space between kids.  So I brought her and she did fabulously!  She jumped right in to whatever the class was doing and didn't cause any problems (aside from needing an occasional diaper change).  By the end of the year, I think she thought she was part of the class.  It wasn't at all uncommon for me to drop him off and have him crying because he had to stay, and Eliza crying because she had to leave!  I volunteered frequently, and sometimes we stayed just to hang out.  One time Oyen even let her be the Class Counter for the day.  It was refreshing to have a place be so family-friendly; it seems like around here extra siblings are seen as a bit of a nuisance--there is sort of this expectation that if you're going to do something with one child, the other should be left with the au pair or something.  But I'm their mom, there is no nanny, and most of the time it works out just fine.  I also try to be aware of him needing solo time with Mom, but he didn't seem bothered at all by having Eliza there; there were 18 kids in the class so they both had plenty of friends to play with.  So three cheers for A Child's Way, three cheers for Pat & Oyen, and three cheers for a kid who is now Kindergarten-ready!

And a picture from a special day celebrating all of the Spanish they learned during the year: