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Tuesday, September 4, 2012

So Here's What Happened on the First Day of Preschool

Today was the first day of class at my school.  Overall, it went pretty well, but there were definitely some things that could have been better.

Today I had three children: a little girl, G, and two little boys, D and J, neither of whom understand much English. 

G was great today.  Her mom had mentioned that she has sharing issues (her older brothers spoil her rotten), and I saw a little bit of that today when she tried to take the green chalk from J; that was the only problem she really had today.  She and J played very nicely throughout a lot of the day; the colored on the chalk easel together and played in the playhouse together when G was done swinging.  She was very helpful; she picked up things the boys dropped and followed directions very well.

J had a pretty good day.  He cried at first, but calmed down before his mom left.  He and G played very nicely throughout the day (as I mentioned in the previous paragraph).  He fell when we were getting ready to go outside, so I ended up carrying him to the playground (he would sit down in a fit of tears if I tried to get him to walk).  He also wouldn't walk back in after we were done playing, but that was because he was having too much fun playing and didn't want to go in!  He was very attentive when I read a book during snack, but he really did NOT want his diaper changed.  At all.  We have one of those wall changing tables like they have in stores, and I had to strap him in because he was flailing so much.  So much, in fact, that he wiggled out at one point and I had to tighten the straps once I got him back in.  Other than that, he had a really good day.

Today was D's first time away from his parents or grandparents ever, so considering that (and the fact that we speak different languages), he did fairly well.  He jumped right into playing as soon as he got there, but about twenty minutes later, I guess he realized his family was gone, because he started WAILING.  He didn't stop until we went outside (almost an hour later).  He kept trying to get me to open the door so he could leave.  I felt terrible that I couldn't comfort him better than I did, but I did the best I could.  He was great on the playground though; he really enjoyed the swings, then went down the slide a few times.  He did a super job walking back inside too.  He didn't want to eat or drink anything during snack time, but he did sit there quietly while I read a couple of books (Oh, David! and Oops!, both by David Shannon).  He also didn't want his diaper changed, though he didn't fight me.  He ended up eating his snack when his family came, which was fine, and he told me goodbye when he left, which I'm taking as a good sign for tomorrow :)

On a much more embarrassing note, my skirt fell down today when D's family was waiting on the director.  It was a bit too big, so I had tucked it into my leggings to help keep it up (I had a long shirt on, so nobody noticed).  When I was cleaning up the sippy cups, it just fell.  Awkward, right?  Thankfully, I don't think they noticed; D's grandma was reading a book with him, and his dad and grandpa were talking.  Luckily I was right by the bathroom, so I just popped in and fixed it, but it was definitely embarrassing.

I'm hoping for a great day tomorrow!

4 comments:

  1. Just wanted to let you know I'd be by tomorrow to write a more detailed comment. Hope you have fun.
    P.S. I tried to find a link to this blog on your other one, but couldn't. Was I just not looking hard enough?

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    1. Thanks :)

      I don't have a permanent link over there, but I will eventually. I mentioned it in today's post and in the post where I announced I had started this blog.

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  2. I sure did write a whole big long message and it got deleted. Shows me to not copy and get ready to paste on the internet. Ha. Alright, round two.
    I'm sure the kids will get used to it. If they have only been around family it will take some time. Just remember that when things start to settle down and they seem comfortable (about 3 weeks in) they will start to have melt downs again. I think it's just because they realize that this is the new normal and they can't change it. You might want to warn the parents that that might happen so that they don't think there is something wrong. That it happens to all kids no matter how nice of a place they are. It is their way of seeing if it's really okay and what will get mom and dad to change their minds. …sneaky little ones.
    I can't wait to see what you have in store for the wee ones. If you want ideas or someone to brainstorm with just let me know. I know that helps me. We just started our new pre-school program and our kids are loving it. The 4's and 5's now "go" to school and the littles get some time to themselves. So far it's great. A few hours away from each other seems just what the doctor ordered. Ha. Today while the bigs were at school the littles and I painted with rocks. I don't know if you know this or not, but that is just amazing. They aren't normally allowed to play with the rocks let alone bring them inside and paint with them. [grin]
    Keep up the good work!

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    1. So I realize this is months later, but after the first week, all the boys stopped coming (although one came for one day a few weeks later). We did get a couple more little girls in there though, although one will be transferring into my new class next semester.

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