Preschool
Well, as I sit here writing this I am reminded of just how quiet a house is without children in it. That's because BOTH my kids are at preschool this morning. Last week, on January 2nd, 2014, Holden took a huge first step, and started his very first day of preschool. Because our kids have such different personalities, we didn't think that Isla's school was right for Holden. Don't get me wrong - it is perfect for Isla, and she absolutely loves it, so we would never think of pulling her out. But for Holden, we felt like a different approach to preschool would be more successful.
This thinking led us to the Montessori style of learning, and we quickly started interviewing the many different schools in the Cinco Ranch neighborhood. To give you an idea of how big our area is, we researched 5 different schools. And that doesn't even encompass all of the Montessori schools in the neighborhood. You would think that with that many schools, none of them would have waiting lists, well, unfortunately that is not the case. Our number one choice has Holden on the wait list, but he likely won't be able to get in until March. We wanted to get him into a preschool atmosphere as soon as possible, so we found another alternative while we wait.
Katy GT Montessori Academy is a Montessori school focused on preparing students for the gifted and talented programs in later education. This is certainly not something that we are pushing either of our children toward. At least not starting in PRESCHOOL!!! But, we loved the teachers and ultimately thought it would be a great first start for Holden. The biggest issue is that it's about 5 miles away from our house - which in our planned community is pretty far - (most places I go to on a daily basis are within 2-3 miles away).
So Holden's first day came, and we loaded up the car for our long 5 mile trip over to the school. ;) He's signed up for three half days (8:30 - 12).
Let me tell you, I spent every minute of those 3.5 hours thinking about my little guy. I was sure that when I came to pick him up they were going to tell me that he just wasn't ready and that he wasn't welcome back. For those of you that know Holden, he is the absolute sweetest most cuddly kid. But… he's a dumper. Like he is level 10 dumper. For those of you who don't know a dumper is a kid who basically walks around and dumps anything and everything that they see. Toys get knocked off shelves, food gets tossed off the table, you see what I mean… He also doesn't like to sit still very long.
Well, as I had predicted, his teacher mentioned both these things when I picked him up. She said they will work on it, and luckily I was bringing him back the very next day. After the second day his teacher told me he did much better, and that he was catching on. They suggested to make the transition easier I bring him 5 days a week for the first two weeks. I can already see a huge improvement in my little guy. He sits still and focuses on a project for a longer period of time, and just yesterday, when I dropped him off, he ran to his teachers arms. I think he's already become teachers pet as he's usually sitting in her lap, or right next to her when I pick him up. I don't blame her though - he's pretty hard to resist.
As for me, this week has been full of getting caught up on all my doctors and dentist appointments. Hopefully next week will be a little more relaxing. :)