My baby girl grew up overnight it seems, and has started
daycare. Not preschool, but daycare (granted it’s in the same building and to
my surprise isn’t all that different
as far as lesson plans go).
Her first day was on August 20, 2014. She arrived at 7:45am
and was very excited. From the day she could say the word “bus” she’s been told
that one day she will go to school, and then once she’s a bit older she will
get to ride the bus to school. So she was all pumped up to go. However, I don’t
think she knew that we wouldn’t be with her while she was there.
I prepped for four days before her first day. We talked
about what she would do while she was there, we bought her teachers some gifts
(Kleenex and hand sanitizer), we wrote her name on all of her things, we picked
out which blanket would be her school blanket, we found something for her
naptime binky to be stored in, and we talked a lot about what she could and
could not do in school.
Her first week went really well! Here’s a little about it.
Wednesday:
Breakfast was pancakes with syrup and a banana, her
favorite. I called to check in at 10:30 and she had already played with Playdoh
(her first time ever) and finger painted. I can’t remember what she had for
lunch, but I later found out she ate it all, which is great. Nap time was a
little tough. They have cots that they sleep on and it took her a little over
30 minutes to fall asleep; it’s a new place, and a new routine (not to mention
an hour earlier than she’s used to). After nap was snack time and they had a
brownie and milk – how cute!!! I went to pick her up and she was excited to see
me and wanted to show me all of their toys. I did find out that she got in
trouble for running (she loves running). I got her paper and talked to her
teacher a bit. We determined she was constipated, poor baby. She talked all the
way home about what they did for the day! She also said that she wanted to go
back the next day.
Thursday:
On the way in she protested school saying that she wanted to
go to Grandma and Pawpaw’s house instead (the school is maybe a half mile from
their house and she knows it). Once we got there though she was fine. At first
she didn’t want me to put her down, but she was hungry so that ended fast.
Breakfast was cinnamon toast and applesauce. I only called once this day and I waited until
after nap. They had played outside, and she was complaining to her teachers
that she was scared and couldn’t potty. She had gone a bit before/during nap
that day too, and wound up with some diaper rash from it. Lunch was hot dog and
french fries, but apparently the kids were all upset because they were out of
ketchup. When I picked her up this day, she was crying. I found out that it was
because I was one of the last parents there and she was sad because I hadn’t
gotten her yet. That hurt. Her teacher and I talked a bit. Miss Rachel informed
me that Emma had complained she was hungry all day long. When we left she told
me all about her day again and said that she wanted to go back the next day.
*That night she ate the most dinner I’ve ever seen her eat!
Friday:
Emma had a doctor appointment this morning, so she didn’t
get to school until around 10. When we got there, she was whining that she
didn’t want me to leave. That ended in a hurry when she saw that some kids were
playing with shaving cream! She stood at the table watching and I noticed that
only a few at a time get to do certain activities. I like that! It teaches them
to share and wait their turn. While I was still there, she did a great job at
just watching (I was waiting for her to stick her hand in). She had sloppy joes
and corn for lunch (which she loves both), and wheat thins and carrots as a
snack. On Fridays they get to bring home their artwork. This day Gene got to
pick her up from school so he grabbed her blanket to wash over the weekend, and
all of her goodies from the week. She had two pages from coloring, and two
stamp art projects. Seriously, my heart melts when she gets to “tell” me about
her artwork. I just love it; I eat it up. I asked her again this day if she
wanted to go back to school and she said yes.
Here are my overall thoughts about daycare in general:
I have to wake Emma up sixty or ninety minutes before her
normal wake-up time to be dressed and ready for school (and her breathing
treatment done) – I send her to her Grandparents’ house in her pjs and hair not
done. As a bonus, waking her early helps a ton with the naptime there. She is
super hyper when she comes home for some reason and wants to run a lot since
she can’t at school. She talks a lot more on those nights as well. She sleeps
great! We do bedtime a bit earlier each night because she’s exhausted. Because
she had skin issues, and her doctor says we shouldn’t give her a bath but every
three nights (we do it every other anyway), we use a washrag or baby wipes to
wipe her body down each night before bed. Dinner is an issue because she’s so
hungry at 5:30 and we don’t usually eat until 6:30. If we give her a snack she
won’t eat dinner, but I never have anything ready until 6:30. I’m going to have
to try to remember to make crock-pot meals more often on these days.
Here are my thoughts on the school Emma is going to:
I know it’s only been a week, but I LOVE THEM!!! She is
going to BrightStart Academy in St. Charles, and let me tell you, they are a
blessing that I never even knew was there. We toured the school on Thursday,
August 14th. When we got there, I immediately liked how the children
who were outside looked so happy and the teachers were watching them closely.
We rang the bell, and a woman answered asking us how she could help us. I said
“I know you! Oh, we are here to tour the school.” She let us in, and she asked
how I knew her. I asked her name and she asked mine. Then I said “Did you work
at Patterson daycare?” Yes! Turns out she was MY preschool teacher! That was it, I was sold. I loved daycare. I
loved preschool. I loved pre-k. All of it because the teachers were great, the
school was warm and cozy, and it was an all-around good time every single day. We
still looked at the “Two Room” and listened to sample lesson plans, and learned
the do’s and don’ts, but I was already sold and knew Emma would go there. So
the next Monday, we turned in our paperwork to start that week! Now, there are
little things that I wish were different... like I wish they were offered water
throughout the day, I wish the snack was either a bit later in the day or a bit
bigger, and I do wish there was one more teacher in the classroom (there are 2
for up to 16 or 17 kids), but all of that I just let slide because everything
seems to be going good “knock on wood.” And Emma’s teachers seem great – they
actually make me want to work there!
So, there you have it. Emma started daycare. We are getting
into week two, and hopefully it’s as good as the first if not better. Wish us
luck!
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