First Day of Preschool

Last fall, Frank & I started thinking about preschools for Frankie.  (It's pretty competitive in our area due to supply and demand.)  I put together my trusty spreadsheet of schools that we wanted to research and then we set about attending open houses.  Chesterbrook Montessori was the first school that we visited and it immediately felt right.  After visiting other schools, we ultimately decided to sign Frankie up at Chesterbrook.  On Monday, 8/25, I took Frankie to school to meet his teachers, check out his cubby (yellow with a dog on it!) and drop off his slippers and extra clothes.  The next day, Frank & I attended parent's orientation and then, on Wednesday, 8/27, the new children went for two hours for their first phase-in day while the parents met for coffee and to dry each other's tears. ;) Frankie's first day was a hit!  Days two and three were a different story.  The mornings started with "I don't want to go to school" and he even broke out the excuses - “I’m too tired to go to school.”  Really?  They start this early?  And then came drop off.  Ugh.  It’s kiss and drop style where the teachers come to the car to get the students out of the car.  Well, Frankie cried and did not want to get out.  He literally grabbed onto the car seat and cried and screamed “I don’t want to go.”  It broke my heart.  The first time I asked the teacher if I should get out of the car and walk him in, but she assured me that he would be ok and would get the hang of it.  "I'm just going to take him out, ok?" she said.  I remember thinking, "yes, whatever - just please make my poor boy stop crying!"  I drove away with tears in my eyes.  But by the time day 4 came around, Frankie was excited to go to school!  And knock-on-wood, he’s been into it ever since.  Personally, I think someone has a crush on Miss Bethany - but the teachers tell us that he also enjoys snack time (go figure) and doing the dishes.  There are about 40 children that range in age from 3-5 in his class.  I know it sounds crazy, but it works - We observed the classroom before we signed up to believe it!  The Montessori philosophy is truly something special.  And it will be really cool when Frankie & Julia both attend together (they will overlap during his last year). 

It's tough to get lots of details out of Frankie about his school day but he will usually tell me what the snack was.  And sometimes he'll sing a song from the day.  Or at least tell me what the song was about.  He talks about the line on the floor – where they sit each morning.  And he loves to show off his jumping jacks (from morning yoga) at home which just consist of him jumping up and down.  The other day he told me about drawing a pumpkin:  “First you need to draw a stem.  And then an orange circle.”  I’m starting to hear him reference the months, too.  It’s amazing seeing him grow and learn and I’m thrilled that this was an easy transition for him!