Preschool

I just want to write about my Daughter's preschool for a minute. She is 4 and this is her first year I ever put her in a daycare/preschool type situation, I always had myself or her dad or my mother look after her...even when I went back to work when she was 10 months old (until her sister was born 2 years later). So back in September I was a nervous momma bear to say the least! And I cried, a lot! LOL

But there have been so many wonderful things that it has brought to her life, and for that I am grateful. One big thing is her self confidence. She suffers from anxiety and scares easily, but going to school has brought her out of her shell.  The little girl who wouldn't play at the park if there was even one other child there, is now running over and playing with total stranger kids. The little girl who was afraid to even look at a stranger nearby is now waving and saying hello to almost everyone...even when we are driving in the car if we stop at a light she starts waving to the cars beside her and I can see their smiles back to her....I secretly hope she's making someones day, a smile from a stranger is a beautiful gift to give. The little girl who had a speech level of a 2 year old is now so close to her age level, just doing some fine tuning at speech therapy to stretch out her sentences with little key words like, and, is, on, over, up, the, it etc. The little girl who was afraid of being on a swing, even as a baby she never let me turn her swing on, has now mastered them and can pump herself really high! The little girl who was terrified if a little boy came near her, is now flirting with them and telling me how cute they are (Lord help me now!). The little girl who stood and watched the class for the entire morning for a couple weeks until she was ready to mingle and play with the kids is now running into class barely saying bye to me and running to play with friends. The little girl who could barely do a smiley face, is now trying to complete the person by making a body, legs with shoes, arms with fingers, full face with 2 eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hair. The little girl who couldn't write one letter can now write her name, with a little help with the S, it's not super clear yet, but if I see those 4 letters on  a paper I know she has written her name. And trust me it's written all over this house! ;) As I watch her grow into this lovely little girl, I also notice her anxiety getting less and less each month.  The things that would terrify her before, she now has better life skills to cope with whatever is swirling around in her brain and has learned to work through her problems. There are hardly any tantrums, last year the smallest thing would send her into panic attacks to the point where I had to get down to her level and make her do deep breathing and centre herself and meditate with her to relax. I can't remember the last time she had a panic attack. And ALL WITHOUT medicating her!!  Meditation works so well for little kids, I wish more people would try it.

She has done one field trip to the Welcome Centre, and a little trip to the Firehall for an awards ceremony (she was sad she didn't get to go in the big truck!) And they raised salmon fry that they released back into the river, they currently have tadpoles that they are raising and also raised caterpillars to butterflies. They made their cocoons and hatched recently and they will release them before the school year ends. The things she is learning is wonderful, and things I wouldn't even think to do as a parent....I'm sorry but I'm not bringing caterpillars into my house LOL. The arts and crafts she's doing is probably her favorite. The painting and use of chalk and cutting and pasting, all things she needs to learn to prepare her for kindergarten. Plus just little things like learning to wait your turn, ask for things politely (which I am a firm stickler to manners in this house!), remembering to put her hat on before she goes out to play, sharing toys with others, joining in on the singing and dancing, and learning to listen to a grown up (teacher) other than her parents, and knowing when to go to them when she needs help with something instead of giving up.

There are so many more things she has learned from being at preschool, but where I was once nervous did I make the right decision to put her into the public school system, when I was 99% sure I was going to homeschool my children, I have to say it's the best thing I've ever done.  The things she has learned just from all the other kids and teachers, is something that I wouldn't have been able to teach her.  I still 100% support the homeschool or home learning path in life, I think it works for so many families and I've met some pretty amazing kids the past few years that all do it.  But I am so happy now with my decision to sign her up for preschool. Those little life skills that were harder for her than others, only got better from being exposed to other children on a consistent basis. The biggest skill is learning to leave my grasp.  Cutting the cord perhaps?? Allowing her the freedom to make her own choices, even at 4 years old, has matured her. Her confidence from going to school has improved everything in life, she never crawls into our bed at night anymore, she wants to wash herself in the bath or shower, she does her teeth brushing and hair ponytails with minimal help, she makes her own snacks, cooks one supper per week with our help, does more chores around the house, helps her sister get her shoes on, so many things I could write about.  I'm not saying we don't have bad days too, but I'm just so happy with how much she's matured and grown mentally and emotionally from a year ago.

I am so happy with her preschool and with her little group of classmates, they seem like they come from such wonderful families where the moms and dads are both so involved in their kids lives, and I've met some great parents who I can now call friends. If you were ever on the fence about preschool or worried about the cost, apply for subsidy if you need to and just jump in with both feet. By far the best parenting decision me and hubby have made thus far. And thank you to her wonderful teachers at school who she never stops talking about.  And to see her little face just beam with pride when she talks about her school and those wonderful ladies.