Happy Last Day of Preschool!

Wow.  The end of another school year.  Time really flies, doesn't it? 

What's that you say?  Your child's school continues for another 6 months?  Oh, that's funny, because in our house we're operating under the assumption that everyone's last day is today. (That's the beauty of being three years old - you can bow out gracefully with no awareness that your departure had anything to do with you.)   

Here's a little ditty I wrote for the occasion (well, mixed in with the original lyrics from Frankie Avalon).  (To be sung to the tune of "Beauty School Dropout" from the movie Grease.)  

Your story sad to tell,

A toddler ne'er do well,

Most mixed up non-delinquent on the block!

Your future's so unclear now,

What's left of your career now?

Can't even get a trade in on your smile!

Angels: (La lalala lalala lalala...)

Preschool dropout,

No graduation day for you.

Preschool dropout,

Missed finger painting and flunked letter "Q".

Well you looked the part, so cute and sweet, grinning for your closeup,

But it turns out you weren't kidding when you said you were one sad pup!

Baby get moving (Baby get movin'),

Why work so hard just to survive?

No need for proving (No need for provin'),

Your young heart deserves to thrive.

Preschool dropout (preschool dropout)
You'll catch up by high school
Preschool dropout (preschool dropout)
You'll catch up by high school
Preschool dropout (preschool dropout)
Know that we love you.

I joke, but after months of stressing we've reached a well thought-out decision made with the help of experts but ultimately based on our own gut feelings.  For so long, everyone's advice seemed to be that the solution to Georgia's preschool problems was: more preschool!  But having given this a trial run from mid-August until December, we're now pretty confident that the one thing that definitely isn't working is "more preschool."  Not to get all melodramatic about it, but it was beginning to feel like trying to teach a drowning person to swim by throwing water at them.     

I know I haven't shared all the details on this blog, and the last preschool update I posted here was quite positive, so you may be reading this thinking, "What the hey?"  Suffice it to say that despite having occasional good days, on the whole Georgia went from crying a lot, to completely shutting down and refusing to participate or interact.  When preschool means consistently sitting on a bench by yourself for extended stretches of time, just watching the other kids and feeling sad, there comes a point when as a parent you have to conclude that it's a net negative.  I know she learned a lot, and it's evident to me that there's a part of her buried inside that enjoyed certain aspects of school but just could never get comfortable with being there.  Our hope is that she'll feel ready by next year, and our plan is to participate in activities that help her build the skills to get there.  (You'd be surprised the number of people who feel the need to remind us of that, as if the only alternative to "more preschool" were to isolate her from human interaction and never leave home.)  

Many of the "achievement monkeys" (as Joe calls them) that we work with have been aghast that we'd consider pulling Georgia from school, as if by dropping out she's just waived goodbye to that Stanford PhD she was on her way to earning.  So, forgive me if I'm coming across as a bit defensive; I've had many moments of doubt about this.  Now that it's settled, though, I'm proud of us for working through this stressful time together, ignoring the naysayers and believing that we know our child best.  I am pretty sure this is going to be one of those things that we look back on years later and laugh, but for now I'm just really looking forward to not having it occupy so much mental space on a daily basis!  That, and skipping the foot-dragging rush out the door this Wednesday.

To conclude on a brighter note, I took Georgia to a free introductory class at The Little Gym last week, which she loved, and judging by the propaganda hanging in the lobby, 45 minutes of tumbling is guaranteed to solve all problems.  Happy days are here again! 

Raise Your Hand if You're Ready for Some PRESCHOOL!

I am!

Not sure if the kids are, but I am really looking forward to:
a) everybody around here having more of a set routine;
b) each kid getting the age-appropriate activities and attention they deserve; and
c) not having to care for three children 24-7!  (I am allowed one selfish reason, right?)

Georgia's first day is tomorrow.  A confession:  I have been getting really jealous lately of all the facebook updates and blog posts about the wonderful school experiences of everyone's super well-adjusted kids.  I can't help it.  School was such an uber-disaster for our family last fall that I think to myself that nobody appreciates how lucky they are, and how easy they have it.

But enough of my pity-party, because we've all got our own challenges.  (And in the grand scheme of things, as stressful as it all seemed at the time, if I'm filing preschool dropout under "family uber disaster", well then I guess I've got a pretty posh life.)  I was (naively) optimistic about Georgia's first day of preschool last year, and I'm optimistic again this year.  She really has matured and changed a lot.  Also, last year's school was primarily selected for its proximity to our home, whereas this year's school was primarily selected for its ability to allow Georgia to phase into it slowly.  She started going to a mom and tot class there with me once a week last winter, and then did a three year old "transition" class that met once a week for a couple of hours this spring, and then again for a short session this July.  So the grand plan has been that when she shows up tomorrow, it won't feel so new, and she'll at least feel comfortable in the building and hopefully recognize a few faces.  But beyond that, she really is doing so much better these days anyway with her separation anxiety and at adjusting to new situations and people.  Fingers crossed for a happy report tomorrow!   

The funny thing is that we tried to not make too big a deal out of the start of preschool this year, attempting to bill it as, "Oh, the next session of your school is starting," as if it were really just a continuation of what she had already been doing.  Well, she's no dummy, so between the new larger backpack, the new lunch bag, and everyone talking about "back to school", she's WAY keyed up for this.  Oh, and let's not forget the greatest thing of all:  the ballet slippers!  Her school requires everyone to take off their shoes and wear ballet slippers all day, I guess so that the floors stay clean and the kids clobber each other less.  So Saturday we picked up a pair of ballet shoes at Target and she has been infatuated ever since.  Wearing them to bed.  Refusing to go to the park because it would mean taking off the slippers.  Putting Joe's tube socks on over them just so that she can join us for dinner on the porch without taking off the ballet shoes.  She woke up yesterday morning with a big blister from having worn them 'round the clock with no socks.  The blister was a blessing in disguise, because it's the only thing that's made her relent and remove the slippers.  I was beginning to get worried that the biggest problem on her first day of school would not be saying goodbye to mom and dad, but changing into regular shoes for recess.  Oh well - we should be so lucky, right?


One day when I get around to it I'll update the food allergy blog to share our experiences with this school on that front, but for now suffice it to say that they've said all the right things to make us feel comfortable and have been nothing but understanding, so we're feeling good about that.