First Day of Preschool

Thanks mostly in part to the extreme amount of instability we have had in our lives the last few months, we had decided that we were not going to enroll Elizabeth in Preschool this year.  It was a hard decision but one that we felt comfortable with.  I have been working with her at home and she was advancing nicely on what Early Intervention and I thought was appropriate.

Then we found this great place in Riverton.  A small townhome that is just perfect for our growing family.  We settled in and began unpacking.  Evaluations came and went for the girls and it was determined that Elizabeth was good to start at a traditional preschool next year.  We were excited.  I text my Aunt Kelly and let her know that I would likely be enrolling both girls in her classes next year if she still had room.  That is when she informed me that they had receiving a moving notification for a student and a spot would be open in her preschool class beginning the first of November if we wanted to start her now. 

The decision was left in our court.  Our daughter was already suffering from anxiety from the move, she was very vocal about not liking the new place and she had begun acting out, but maybe if I started her on a school regiment she would settle in and find some good friends.  So we decided to give it a whirl.

In the days leading up to the first day, Elizabeth was very verbal about not wanting to go.  She even resorted to refusing to use the potty when I once stated that "now that she was going potty on the big girl potty she could go to preschool with the other kids."  Her acting out even got aggressive at times and she was adamant that she didn't want to go. 

I text Kelly and let her know about what was happening and we talked through it a little.  She recommended that I give it a try and if it doesn't work we could always try again in a couple of months.  However, I was concerned that Elizabeth would fall too far behind her peers in regards to social and psychosocial development.  So I agreed to start her the first of November and see how it went. 

The first day came... we ran errands in the morning before preschool started.  Elizabeth would ask "is this my school" every time we passed a school while running errands.   She kept saying that she didn't want to go to preschool and she would run away.  LOL.  I proceeded to get her ready, under duress, but she eventually calmed down when I pulled out her backpack.  I reminded her that big girls take a back pack to school and so she needed to get hers ready.  She opened it up and asked where her lunch was.  I reminded her that she already ate lunch.  She asked three or four more times for a lunch for her book bag.

When we finally got loaded in the car and ready to go, we proceeded to Kelly's house.  Elizabeth, knowing the route, asked why we were going to Auntie Kel's.  I reminded her that Kelly's is where preschool is held and so we had to go there in order to go to school .  She looked really surprised.  By the time we pulled in the driveway she was excited.  I snapped a couple of pictures outside the house and then walked her around to the back. We met her teacher, I filled out the paperwork, and Elizabeth got settled in.  It was a HUGE help that Chelsey had her sons there that day.  Elizabeth took to Hudson like a fish to water.  He took her under his wing and showed her how to play the computer and that is where Mommy was no longer necessary.  I finished up my paperwork and snuck upstairs to say Hi to Kelly and Chelsey before leaving. 

When I picked Elizabeth up, she couldn't tell me a single thing she had done or learned, but she did say she would go back on Thursday.  So all in all it was a success.  The only story I got from her about preschool was about Auntie Kel's visit to the preschool.  She enjoyed seeing Kelly in her class.  She also informed me that Uncle Jon couldn't visit because he was in the car on his phone and "his mommy" wouldn't let him out.  So she would have to visit Uncle Jon another day.  LOL!!

Preschool?  Success!!