I traveled to my parents house for the day on Saturday to spend some QT with my Dad... if you know him, you can probably guess what we did!
Played volleyball in the front yard.
Went swimming.
And played games that night.
Sounds just like him, yes? I love you SO much, Dad!
Sunday we had a low-key day. Our boys slept until almost 5pm so Tyler and I were lazy in the afternoon and then closed out the night with a squirt gun fight in the backyard and a little Sonic ice cream. Well, Tyler had ice cream. I didn't, because the MINI size was almost 400 calories... crazy stupid yummy delicious not good for you ice cream.
My husband really is the best Dad I could ask for to Jaxon and Cohen. He drops everything the minute he walks in the door and plays with them until they go to bed. He is SO patient! The man hardly ever raises his voice and loves to teach them how to do new things. I am so so so thankful for him and the role he is playing in our boys' lives.
Still one of my favorite pictures of him...
On a completely unrelated note, today I checked out a preschool in our area for Jaxon. Such a surreal experience... one you think is YEARS from happening, until you blink and it's time for you to start thinking about that.
We are trying to decide if we'll enroll him in the summer program or not, but I'm confident the fall program will be here before we know it and he'll be away from me 2 (half) days a week. What will Cohen do without him?
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But then, in the same minute, I'm thinking... he's only 3... 3-year old preschool is not a necessity... is it worth the money... is it worth being tied-down and not being able to leave town if I wanted to during the week... is this the right route to go?
So, what do you think? Will you enroll your child in 3 year old preschool? Will you wait till s/he's 4? Or will you just skip right to kindergarten?
I'd love to hear your thoughts, and why.
Have a great Tuesday! Tomorrow is weigh-in... yikes.
“I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.
I will advise you and watch over you."
Psalm 32:8
First, I don't think there is a right answer to the preschool question - only an answer that is right for you.
ReplyDeleteI'll share what we are doing though...first, we are homeschooling, and that has a big effect on our decision. Isaac does go to Mother's Day Out at our church. It's one day a week during the school year and it's cheap enough that should we go out of town, I wouldn't worry about him missing it. Having that one day to get a bunch done is priceless and I really look forward to some one on one time with the baby this fall when he's at school too. However, when he turns three, mother's day out turns into preschool and is twice a week. And for us, I just don't think it's the right choice. I would continue a one day a week program in a heartbeat, but two days is just too much for us, especially at just 3. I don't feel pressure for him to learn things at preschool because we learn a lot at home, so that's not a big factor for me. He gets a lot of time with friends just through our regular church schedule, and really, I just don't want him gone that much!
Well, they don't have MDO here, so Lizzy hasn't had any experience with this thus far, but I'm 98% certain we'll do preschool. Lizzy is a January birthday, so she will have to wait until the fall before she turns 4 before she starts...but literally, as soon as they will take her, I will stick her in the church's preschool. Heck, if they'd take her in January, as soon as she turns three, I'd do it (unfortunately, they won't). Mostly because she really, really, really wants to go to school already. Every time we dropped Logan off at school this past year, it was tears and "I want to go to school too! Promise I'll be quiet! Know my ABC's! Go potty in toilet every time!". At the end of the school year, the school actually asked Lizzy to come to the awards ceremony and gave her the "Most Anxious Student" award...I'm not even kidding. So for her, yes I'll totally enroll her, even though I have no idea how we'll be able to afford it. But, I think the answer is different for every kid and THEIR own personality and desire school wise.
ReplyDeleteI will say that in my own observations at the church/school, the boys who did pre-school seem to do better in pre-K/kindergarten than the boys who didn't, not necessarily academically, but just in being able to sit still and follow directions more readily. I don't notice a huge difference in the girls, honestly.
I totally agree with Kristal - there is only right for you. I don't have a kid, so my opinion isn't experience-based, but I am just going to throw this out there... I didn't go to preschool [at 3 or 4!], and I am fine. :) Mom always did fun educational activities with us at home, so I knew my letters and numbers and could write my name and I was not behind when I went to kindergarten. We had play-dates and whatnot, so I had friends when I started school, too. On the other hand, I loved school my whole life [still do], so adjusting to school wasn't hard. Maybe the transition from a couple days a week now to more days later when he starts kindergarten would work better for him. When works for him might not work for Cohen later, you just have to judge what you think will work for Jaxon and do it, even if it isn't cheap or easy or popular. Oh, kids. So not there yet! :)
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