Last week was a doozy. On the work front, I had quite a few meetings, lots of teaching and was working early in the morning and late into the night to put the finishing touches on my teacher training that starts next week in Tennessee. On the Finn front, he came down with a yucky virus early in the week that had him feverish and coughing. Finn also started a preschool program!
Sadly, he had to miss the first day because of his virus but after he was fever-free and feeling a bit better, he was able to attend on Friday.
Finn is in a toddler/ones class at a small, sweet church preschool that is super close to our house. I know that he is really young for preschool and it was a tough decision whether or not to send him. Of course, I want him with me as much as possible but the reality is that I also have to work. I’ve definitely had to fight a little guilt about sending him but I just really felt like Finn needed the routine that a preschool program would offer and I needed the consistent childcare. He’ll be attending three days a week from 9a-1p.
Finn is such a social little guy so I have no doubt that he will thrive, learn and grow so much. Even though he’s not to the stage of playing with other children yet, he LOVES watching them. He also really likes his classroom. It’s like toddler Disneyland in there!
I’m lucky to know two of the moms in Finn’s class (there are seven toddlers, a teacher and her assistant) and I’m excited to meet more and to continue expanding my circle of mom friends. <3
The schedule for their days is pretty darn cute.
Word from his teacher is that Finn had zero interest in sitting in a chair at a table to eat his lunch and kept getting up to wander around. Haha. 🙂
His lunch was basically untouched when he got home.
So I’ve been navigating an unfamiliar world and buying lunchboxes, ordering custom labels for all of his belongings, carpool (!!!!), signing up to help with events at the school, etc. Pretty surreal! Clearly, you can tell by the photo above that I did not have a fancy sign or letter board for the first day. I have a lot to learn. 😉
Any and all helpful tips you have for preschool are so welcome!!!
He will love it!! I think it’s great you put him in a program. They learn music, making things, playing with others and listening to other adults and following rules. No mom guilt. They will teach him things you cannot because you are mom. He is also learning independence. Our jobs as moms and parents is to teach our children to learn how to best navigate this world and make good decisions. Our job is to work our way out of a job. Hugs momma you are making the right and best decision for you both!!
You’re going to find that he LOVES it. My daughter (now 4) was in daycare 3 days a week from the time she was 4 months old. I felt horrible about it at first, but she loved her time at “school”, playing and being with friends. They’ll do all the messy art projects that maybe you won’t want to at home ? , and he will have lots of opportunity to get wiggles out with little toddler buddies.
Sounds like you found an awesome program!
Sounds like the right decision for both of you! Nothing to be guilty about here! Hopefully this will help you a lot and the socialization will be amazing for Finn! Good job Mama!
And those letter boards are so silly.
You DO need to work and take care of you—which signifies taking care of Finn. Go mama, go 🙂 xx
Great idea! I had to do something similar. Best choice for both me and my daughter!
I am so excited for Finn and for YOU! He will loooove his preschool — I have no doubt. Our boys sound so similar to Finn (very social — love observing other kids and VERY active) and preschool is the BEST thing. We started Chase at 2 and I’m already excited for Ryder to begin next fall (and would totally sign him up now if our preschool had a 1s program bc it’s just the best for a myriad of reasons). Sending good luck wishes to you guys for Finn’s first full week of preschool! <3
Don’t feel guilty!! I would have loved to stay home with my little one, but the reality was full time daycare for us since she was an infant. I really feel like it was the best thing for her though! As she’s entering kindergarten this year, she is so social and making new friends easily and she’s used to the structure of a school day. Time with mom is of course always wonderful, but time away from mom is also equally beneficial for you both!
You will be so happy that you started preschool!! Its to fun to see them learn new things and make friends! Plus I found that starting this early pays big benefits in other areas because they learn how to listen, be in a group setting, be apart from mom, etc. – so when my 2 year old started soccer after a few months in preschool, she was totally used to listening and following directions from another adult, and also was happy to participate the entire time without needing me or anyone else right there with her.
I had the guilt feeling too, when I brought my son to a preschool, but the reality is you have to work. The great thing is that it’s close to home, so when bad weather comes, it won’t be so bad driving back and forth. If he sees all the other kids eating, then maybe he will follow suit or wishful thinking. Lol. It sounds like a good place too Jen. He might surprise you and ask when he’s going to go back there. Stop worrying, your doing the right thing!
Have a great week! ?
That sounds like a great program! I think preschool is a solid idea for all kids, regardless of whether their parents work outside the home or not. He’ll learn to listen to other adults, adapt to a routine, make friends, and you’ll get the time you need! I hope it goes well! And letterboards are just superfluous. Happy smiles are the best thing you can ask for 🙂
Try not to feel guilty! Taking care of you and getting work done is important! Our son has been in full-time daycare since I returned to work at 4.5 months. It was tough at first but now I realize that he gets so much out of his time there and has the best time. They do things with him – like lots of art projects – that I wouldn’t have the drive or honestly the patience to do myself! He is always happy when I pick him up and does well when daddy drops him off, too. Since he’s social, he’ll love the time with other kids!
Such a sweet post! I actually work at a daycare and always love the little ones that come! I am sure that Finn is getting well taken care of! You should be proud that Finn has such a hard working mamma!! Thanks for sharing!
-Kate
https://daysofkate.com/