Wonderful World of Preschool

Connor has been in preschool now for about two months and OH the the improvements and changes we have seen in our little guy! For any mom out there that questions the value of finding an excellent preschool, let me be clear: it is totally worth it!

As a stay-at-home mom, there was definitely some question as to whether of not we really needed to enroll Connor in a preschool. After all, we were going to Gymboree, the play room at the gym, and now 2-year-old soccer play where Connor gets plenty of interaction with other children. However, even the best mom with the best kids needs a little break in the action every now and then.

Once decided to pursue the preschool option, we quickly found the perfect fit. Out wishes were pretty simple: non-denominational, an actual school setting (NOT a daycare), and offering options for a young 2-year-old without potty training expectations. Since most preschools in our area are either run through a daycare facility or church, it made our search short and sweet!

The first day he brought home his bookbag filled with arts and crafts and paintings, I was so proud my heart almost hurt! I am just so proud of my little boy! And, the best part, he absolutely LOVEs his 6 hours of mommy-free time at school (and so does momma!)

Yesterday, he brought home a progress report from his teacher in preparation for our parent/ teacher conferences next Monday. (I guess "progress report" is the new lingo for a "report card" ;) A preschool report card is truly hilarious, but so on the money regarding their specific development areas and benchmarks. Criteria include things like the child's ability to dress themselves, wash & dry hands, sit still, follow one and two-step directions, etc.. Each area has 2 options for a "grade": developing and usually.

Most of Connor's checks were in the usually column, with a few in the developing column (and a couple of no's written in... specifically in the "dressing one's self" which he does not do! :) The teacher's complimented him very much and suggested that the best way we can help him as parents right now is to let him do more activities such as eating and hanging up his coat and bag on his own to build self-confidence. (Apparently, Connor uses the smile-and-flirt-to-get-adults-to-help-me tactic at school, just like at home! I taught him well! haha ;)

We couldn't be happier with Connor's progress in school so far! Especially as the very youngest kid in his school, as he just made the October 1st birthday cut-off by 4 days! We are also thrilled with our choice to enroll Connor in preschool at two, and with the school we picked! I'm having a fun time meeting other parents, volunteering on committees, and even hosting our Parent's Night Out at our house next month (since I'm a room parent!) We've really jumped right in!

As a bonus, a couple of ME days a week are nice to have. Simply having the time to shower and blow-out my hair, or vacuum or scrapbook is great! I can appreciate the luxury of being able to try clothing on while shopping, I can actually walk past the toy/sports section of Target without spending an hour explaining that we "have all of those things at home .... they have to stay here!", and I can hop in and out of the car to run about 10 errands in the time it takes to run 2 errands with Connor in tow!

I'll post more updates regarding our school experience as the year progresses!

I leave you with a couple of pics from our trip to the Louisville Zoo last week!!

Cracking Me UP

Connor showing off his "Birthday Hat" he got at preschool yesterday!

Connor has changed so much just since he started his 2-Day Preschool. We've noticed him becoming more patient, self-sufficient (as far as playing alone, getting the toys he wants off the shelf, etc...) and more vocal and social (which we didn't really think was possible!). It kind of makes me wish we had started him in the 3 or 5 day program, but we can still do that next year when he is in the 3's class.

I attribute a lot of this immediate improvement simply to the fact that he is 1 of 8 at school, but at home, he is getting constant attention. His teachers are amazing. That's right, he has TWO teachers for just 8 kids... which is why it might be hard for us to ever switch over to public school later on! From what we have witnessed so far (which is actually quite a bit with the volunteering I've done, conferences, parent night, etc...) the entire staff at Chance School is freaking amazing! They seem to be "on" all the time - and that's difficult to fake! I also LOVE the liberal attitude the school takes toward school and discipline. It's not like they're running around wild, but they use positive reinforcement and direction to correct behavior, plus teach a LOT of self-reliance which promotes self-confidence.

So the reason I'm cracking up today is this: when we got home from the gym this morning, I sat down at my computer (standard) and Connor ran off to make chaos in the family room (also standard). It wasn't 2 minutes after I sat down that he came up to me and started pulling at my leg.

"Watch TV, please mamma. Watch TV, please mamma." (a little louder the second time, of course.)

{And, for those of you who may not have a little one, at two years old, everything is repeated over and over and over and over again consistently without fail until you not only respond, but do whatever it is they are asking. FYI. ;) }

"Sesame Street, on? Sesame, on?"

So, we make the journey into the family room where I put on Sesame Street. Connor sits in "his" chair and then goes on to say:

"Crackers, apple juice... crackers, apple juice..."

HAHAH! I wonder where he gets this?? Sitting in front of the tube eating crackers!! LOL! Hilarious! Connor knows what he want .... and generally he wants it right now!

Now he's sitting in his highchair here next to me and I'm watching him pick every single veggie out of his bowl of pasta before he will eat it. He even says: "No" every time he finds a piece. This little mannerism I'm going to attribute to his dad!!

Connor's First Day of Preschool!

Connor's first day of 2-Day Twos preschool was Monday the 24th and it went very very well! I didn't even cry until they actually took him out of my arms and he was crying "momma momma" as they headed into the school - so I think I did pretty well! They told me I could call the office any time to see how he was doing .... and I even kept myself from doing that! I just knew he was going to be fine! He had a blast at the conference and visiting his teachers last week, so I felt comfortable that he would adjust seamlessly!

Preschool bag



Breakfast of Champion Preschoolers - Eggos and Bananas!

Yeah, he knows he's cute!

Ready to go!

The school reported back that he slept about 90 minutes during naptime and ate only a little of his lunch (standard!) Tuesday, he brought home his first painting/ drawing for the fridge! My little man is such a big boy now!

Can you say: prodigy!? ;)

I can't wait to go and peek in on him while at school one day! I'm sure it's about the cutest thing ever!

The Hangover

I feel like I am still in the morning after 'hangover' from our trip. Not just me, but the entire family. It's hard for anyone to adjust to a three hour time change, but trying to adjust a 2-year-old, while keeping some degree of normalcy in our life is really tough. Not that I'm complaining about little Connor sleeping until 10 in the morning, but honestly we are going to be screwed when preschool starts next week! Our biggest issue is getting to bed at a decent time of night - the weather is just so nice and we have been doing so many fun things outside that it's impossible to get Connor in bed before 10 PM! (not to mention it stays light outside until 9 PM!)We have to be to school by 8:30 AM ... ahh! This means we need to leave the house by 8 AM - so the current sleep schedule is clearly not OK anymore!

Speaking of preschool, we had a parent/ student/ teacher conference yesterday at Chance School. We were able to meet Connor's teacher and student teacher, purchase his little school bag, and get our carpool drop-off and pick-up info! Connor's teacher is AMAZING ... she has been teaching 2 year olds for 35 years and shares many of the same ideas about parenting and teaching that Jamie and I have... including about discipline, religion, etc... and she even loves using Discovery Toys in her classroom! I am SO excited about our situation at this school... we were SO lucky to get in! Next Monday will be fun, exciting, scary and sad all at the same time ... expect to see some tears on the computer screen! ;)

Connor's little school bag for snacks and lunch!

Of course, as the shop-o-holic I am, I had to get him this super cute lunch box and book bag from PBK with his name on it! I have never seen such a small back pack! Love it!

Have you ever seen a backpack so small?? Too cute!

On a different note, we are still going through issues with my LR2 and we're contemplating trading for a different car at the same dealership. Fortunately for me, one of the other car brands they have is Porsche. Last night Jamie and I went to test-drive the Cayenne... and of course we loved it! I don't even want to talk about it too much because i don't want to get my hopes up... but I really hope we decide to order this car!! I love that it has automatic opening and closing of the tailgate, plus built-in garage door openers... two options that you would think my fully-loaded Land Rover would have, but doesn't, because it wasn't offered on the LR2. Jamie is really the one who loves Porsche - he's been having withdraws since we sold the Boxter when Connor was born ... plus he's forced to buzz around in a super-sweet hybrid right now because of all his commuting to Lexington .... so I think he would really like to have this car to drive on the weekends and evenings, in addition to me just loving it in general! Anyway, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Jamie decides we can't live without this car! ;)

So this isn't a brand-new one, but it's the closest I could find to the one we're looking to get!

AND, just to make my day even better, Jamie did the grocery shopping for me last night and brought home roses! I am so spoiled!!

OK - back to the laundry! Gotta get something done in the house today before heading out for Girls Night tonight!