Week 1 of Nursery School Recap

We successfully made it through Natalie's first week of school last week!! It was a whole new normal around here and I'm still trying to figure out how to best maximize the 2 hours I get while she is at school. Here are some observations after one week.


1. I hate not knowing what she's doing while she's at school. Her teacher updates her website to tell us what they learned that day - but I want to see who Natalie sits next to, how she is with the other kids, what songs they are singing, etc. etc.

I love that when she's home she'll just start singing a song that I've never heard before, or reciting a prayer that I know I've definitey never done with her. She was retaining new things already after one week and it's so cute. I gave her an apple in the car on Friday and she sang this whole "apple song" before she took a bite out of it - Chris and I were both like "What is she singing?? Must be something from school."

2. I already got an email from her teacher that she doesn't sit on her chair or the floor and keeps running around. Also, she was climbing on furniture in the classroom. "We need to all work together" to teach her to sit "criss-cross applesauce" on the floor, and on her butt in a chair.

I'll take full responsibility for not being strict enough about her sitting on her chair. She's always standing and climbing on our chairs and through the months/years, I just let it go. But it honestly never really crossed my mind to "teach her" to sit down criss-cross on the floor. If we play on the floor we're either laying on our stomachs, or have our feet out.

I don't like the idea that Natalie may be the one kid who's causing disruptions in the classroom or possibly giving her teachers gray hairs. I know she has already been on time-out in the classroom (but luckily, I know she wasn't the only student to be on time-out) I know the teachers are totally used to dealing with every kind of kid out there. I talked to two moms this week at pick-up and both of their kids turn FOUR this November! They held their kids back last year because they weren't ready or potty-trained for school. The difference between age 3 and 4 is HUGE, but as the teacher pointed out to me: she's taught kids Natalie's age before and they knew how to sit down, so it's not an age thing.

I am hoping hoping hoping that in one month's time, this will all be a distant memory and Natalie will finally learn how she needs to behave in school. She already stopped climbing on the furniture within 2 days, so she definitely understands. Chris and I are upping our a-game at home to work with her on these things now. When we ask her what she does at school she always says "I listen to my teachers, and I eat snack." Well, that and "I peed on the floor". She said that twice last week so I finally emailed the teacher to see if this was true (It wasn't).

3. Natalie LOVES school. It's all we can do to keep her from literally running to the school in the morning and bolting for the door when we get there for drop-off. She gives a quick "Bye Mommy, I'll see you later!" and she's off - doesn't even look back once. Of course, I both love and hate this at the same time.

4. 2 1/2 hours is NOT ENOUGH TIME for me. At all. It's really 2 hours by the time I get home from drop off and have to leave again for pick-up. Plus, I get to pick-up early so I can talk to the other moms and start getting to know other people, so I've been getting just under 2 hours at home with the baby. Add in a nursing session and I might as well just make the bed and call it a morning. Sigh, I had such high hopes for these mornings but I'll figure it out.

5. I've met two moms already that we meet outside the door each day and talk for a bit before the kids come out. They seem really nice and Natalie is already invited to the one little girl's birthday party this November. It's nice to start meeting some other people in my community with kids the same age. So far, we are very happy at this school.... and hoping they are happy with us too, as long as Natalie can learn to sit that is :)

6. Everyone told me that when Natalie started school I'd notice that she'd be tired and more hungry. And yes that is true!! She actually asked for lunch last week and downed it every day! Usually, she is not very hungry for lunch. She also took great naps each day - this is great!!

Here's a little montage of her first two days of school: Orientation day and first day!


Comments

  1. I wouldn't put too much stock in the fact that she has trouble sitting. She's little and it's hard. As a former teacher, I would NEVER address this with a parent unless it had been MONTHS and I saw no improvement. She'll get the hang of it. John wouldn't sit forever and at his daycare they don't make them if they don't want to. That drove me nuts, so I told them to make him sit! Haha. She'll get it, don't let the teacher get to you. They learn a lot from the other kids, so chances are when she starts seeing a lot of kids sitting she'll fall right in line.

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    1. This is really helpful and reassuring, thank you! The teacher has been nice about it - I think she just wants to make sure that we are all together enforcing the same guidelines and rules at home as she is in the classroom, and I do think it's helping Natalie piece everything together, but I know that this is normal, esp. for her young age and it's just going to take a few weeks for it to sink in!

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