We have started yet another new preschool and this one is GREAT so far. Alex has adjusted pretty well, better than expected. He had some crying as we dropped him off for about 1 week. The teachers are all great and so attentive, Ms. Jodi is the owner and has her two boys (2 and 4) there part time. Miss Lizzie is the head teacher and there 40 hours per week. There is Mr. Eric and Ms. Jen are part-time teachers. There are about 10-12 other kids there, about 1/2 girls 1/2 boys anywhere from the ages of 16 months to 4 years old.
The other kids are very friendly and so are the parents. Many have come up to us and introduced themselves. Alex has met a new good friend, Kai who is 4 years old. They have been playing together a lot. They have a big tool bench with lots of tools, many that we don’t have at home. With the current fascination with tools lately, this is a big draw everyday. Also, they have lots of different fire trucks, big trucks, small trucks, noisy trucks, wooden trucks, battery operated remote control fire trucks!
They have the dizzy bus ( http://www.dizzys-tumblebus.com/ ) come on Wednesdays which has become an instant hit! It’s a bus that has been converted into a mobile playground. With monkey bars and things to climb on, they have weekly themes. Sometimes they pretend they are animals and sometimes they are firefighters.
The outside playground is all paved and there is a big basketball hoop (yet another current fascination) and there are lots of trikes and bikes. Mr. Eric picks Alex up to make hoops he says.
They do all the typical stuff: read books, sing songs, free-play time, play-doh, arts and crafts, etc. In the summer they will go to the library which is within walking distance and a park nearby. What we know is there is a lot of fun activities that keeps the kids busy here and Alex just soaks it up.
They do diaper changes all at the same time and we hope that Alex will start being interested. We bought big boy underwear and have them at home and he loves wearing them. He has showed a new interest lately and we are going with it! He has gone pee in the potty at home quite a few times but doesn’t connect everything yet. But, I feel like we’re off to a good start. I have no illusions that he will be potty trained before our little baby girl gets here, but I do see that this summer will be a good time for all that.
So far, we really like this preschool. We are encouraged to come in and get our child adjusted. They have a genuine interest in learning about him, no tv, no fighting, the drop offs are getting better especially when we mention Dizzy bus. Age appropriate activities (no coloring in the lines, preschool that only works on letters and numbers, and supervision at all times.
This preschool has been in business for ~ 3 years and I can see how Alex will fit here for a long time, I hope. We are so glad that we listened to our instincts and make the tough decision to change preschools again. I can’t even imagine what it would be like if we were still taking him to the old preschool! It was tough, but so worth it! It’s even about $150 cheaper per month!
