Preschool starts next week, getting nervous!

My girls are starting a two year old preschool program next week. It's two days a week for two hours a day. Just to get this out of the way, I do not want to argue the pros and cons of preschool. I am not sending them to get a jump start on their education, it's just an activity for them to do and a chance for me to get a little break, that's all.

We had orientation today. Ainsley had a ball and was crying because we had to leave. Bea was very ready to go. She spent most of the time glued to me. I'm just nervous about some things like how are the teachers going to understand what they are saying, will they get frustrated with Ainsley's non-cooperativeness, will Bea get too overwhelmed, things like that. The biggest one is understanding what they are saying. They do speak pretty well, but Ainsley does not enunciate well and Bea has some little speech quirks like says "s" for "f", as in, "sarm"(farm), "seet"(feet). They both still sign a lot, and the teacher does not know signs. I have always encouraged them to sign to get across what they are saying, so I hope they (the girls) don't get frustrated.

I am sure they are going to be fine, but this will be the first time they have been away from us with anyone other than my parents. I have been paranoid about leaving them and have never done babysitters or daycare of any kind. It's only two hours and they keep them very active during that time, they probably won't even think about me not being there.

I am looking forward to having the little break. I have some projects around the house I've been meaning to work on, hope I actually do them and not sit on my butt the whole time!

 

Hi...mine just started on Monday. It went much better for them than for me. I didn't cry but I worked from home "just in case". They seem to be adjusting pretty well. We have had no meltdowns and they even take naps for their teachers. I am hoping they do the same for their parents this weekend. I realized that it was harder for me than them. Anyhow, they will be great. As for your projects, cannot help you on that one. :winking0009: Best of luck next week!

 

OMG kelly - i am FREAKING out about this! C&A start Sept 18 - same as B&A, they'll be going two mornings a week (ours is 9-12, tue and thurs). I am REALLY nervous about Alisha - I think they'll both cry, but I think Cameron will get over it as quickly as he finds something fun to play with. Alisha, on the other hand, I think won't be comfortable until she finds someone there she can go to for comforting. She has only ever been with our nanny or me (or DH). we do have a sitter we use at night, and it took alisha MONTHS of seeing her (she cleans our house) before she got comfortable with her.

i KNOW it will be good for them, and my guess is that a month from now they will love it and be excited to go. but i'm anticipating the worst at first. i guess i'll ahve a better sense after our open house - which is the week before they start. i'll be anxiously waiting to hear how it goes for you and please send me tips if you have any!

carmen and whit's mom - i'm going to work from home their first two days there also, just in case. any tips on how you made a smooth exit/ said goodbye?

 

We just took them to their room, introduced them to the teacher (again), dropped their stuff in the cubbies, said goodbye and left the room while waving. We didn't make it a long goodbye. I hung around outside of the door (away from the window) for about 3 minutes to listen for crying. I heard none and left. Oh yeah, we did take pictures so we were there a little while but no longer than 15 minutes. My suggestion, don't make it a long goodbye or every one will be upset. On Wednesday, my son looked like he wanted to cry after saying Bye Mommy. I told him goodbye and the teacher was able to occupy him. He never cried. Not sure what else I can offer. It has truly been a challenge dropping them off and heading into work but they seem to be enjoying it.

I reread your post before saving this. The open house will be a good time to see how they might possibly react. The education director there told us on the first day that generally no child cries (they are going every day). She told us that it generally takes them until about Wednesday. She was right on with my son. Hope this helps some!

 

That's so exciting! It will probably be a little rough at first -- give it at least a week before you panic (if you are inclined to panic). I bet Bea will get used to it a lot quicker once you are out the door. And hopefully the teachers are used to 2-year-olds (it's a 2-year-old program after all!) and can understand them. The girls may get frustrated when they try to sign and the teachers don't understand it, but a lot of signing is pretty intuitive (drink, eat, etc.), and they'll will quickly figure out which signs work and which ones don't.

 

I would give it some time and see how it goes. If after a couple of weeks it is not working out then you can re-evaluate. But I bet they are both going to eventully if not in the beginning love going! Mine will be starting a two day a week program in October and we keep talking about it a lot and I even drive by the school to get them excited (my other motivation is they have to be potty trained by then and we are still working on that!)

 

We are about to start a toddler program here too. The girls will be going on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 to 12. As much as I am looking forward to having a little bit of time and for them to have some new friends to play with I know I am going to be a little upset to leave them. DH, me and the girls will go on Sept, 10th for an orientation and then we take them back on the 11th for their 1st day.

Kelly...my girls also have only ever been with me, DH or my parents. So I am really curious how they are going to do. The day earlier this year when we signed them up for this we left them in the toddler room for snack time and they did great. So I hope it is just as easy in two weeks.

 

Mine went 1x/week last year for 3 hours and this year will be going two days. They only cried a little bit the first few times I dropped them off and the teacher always said that it never lasted more than a few minutes. I always just dropped them off, gave them a hug and a kiss and told them that mommy would be back to pick them up soon. At first I did things like bring them a sticker or a lollipop when I picked them up to give them a treat to look forward to! They loved that

 

Wow that's great that you found some place that will take 2 year olds. Most places around me are for 3 and up.

 

Add me to the nervous mother list. P and P start next Tuesday for 2 mornings a week. Like you, I am worried about how they will do! I know that they will be fine, but since they have always been with me, grandma or nana it will be a change. The part that really stinks is that we go next week, then on Sept 8 we start our family vacation. I have thought about keeping them out until the 3rd week of Sept. We will see how things go...