He is an early September baby, so he misses the official cut off day of Sept 1st to start in the public school system (montessori is on a different agenda - so to speak - so that is he why he started before he turned 3).
But having an early September birthday is a good thing and a bad thing. It's good in the sense that he will be the oldest in his class, but it is bad because ...well... he will be the oldest in his class. This reality really sucks.. and if I would have known the damn date issue with the start of school back when we were working on making babies, I would have planned the sex date with Beaver Boy alittle differently so that the kid would have been born late Feb/early March-ish, which I think is the ideal month, simply because that makes the kid about 5 1/2 when they start school...
BUT...regardless.. our angel is here with us (and we love him!) and he is gonna be just like his mommy and daddy, both of whom have September birthdays, and he will be the oldest one in his class, too. So, as a parental pledge Beaver Boy and I made with/to each other (along with the help of the teachers along the way), we are focusing on making him a leader and steering him clear of the attitude of the bossy know-it-all-because-I-am-older-than-you.. although most kids are oddly attracted to the bossy ones.. huh. Anyway, that is the mission POSSIBLE. (Lord help us).
So ... it was just a matter of weeks after he started his first year of preschool that he turned 3... which is when most kids start preschool, right? So, what's the big deal you might ask... well, Sweet Pea gets to go to preschool for THREE YEARS!!!... now, how boring is that for a kid?! It sucked and still sucks, I'm sure. Looking back, I wouldnt have done it that way again... but to be honest, which I try to be most of the time, let me say that I was at a point in my life in which I NEEDED some personal, quiet time to myself. (have I mentioned yet anywhere in my blog that my 2 boys.. not a girl and a boy or 2 girls, but my TWO BOYS are just 13 months apart?) yah.. so.. I was shamelessly ready for a 3 hour DAILY break and gosh darn it, I was gonna find a way to take it. God love that child of mine - it's not his fault. But thank you montessori school, and off to school he went, which he has pretty much hated since.
It's been a couple weeks now, in his THIRD YEAR of preschool. He has his good days and his bad days.
GOOD DAYS are because......
(1) he gets to go to the same school with his older brother, for the first time.
(2) he is the oldest in his class (it is a 4 year old PreK class)
(3) he knows alot of what they are talking about/doing in class (this is not a BRAGGING statement, this is a fact, simply being that he came from montessori.. does this mean his handwriting and reading skills are perfect? no. there is always room for improvement.)
(4) he gets to play imaginary play with the animals and he loves the toys there.
(5) he gets me all to himself from 11am-4pm every day.
BAD DAYS are because....
(1) there is a child in the class who went to school with him this last year (at montessori) and this kid follows SP around and makes noises and just makes it an additional struggle for Sweet Pea to focus. Not sure how that one will pan out... he is a disruption to Sweet Pea.
(2) it is the "same thing every day.. over and over again," he says. (in montessori, it is more student/child-directed - the traditional classroom it is.. well.. traditional. structured and formatted and teacher-directed.
(3) you have to sit still.
(4) jumping is for outside.
(5) there is too much singing.
Here is our family traditional first day of school picture.
We asked Sweet Pea to put his arm around Magoo,
and he accidentally bonked him in the head.
Being that Magoo is Mr. Sensitive,
the pictures speak for themselves as to how he handled the situation.
Here is a happier Magoo.
Walking from the car to the school together.
Here is Sweet Pea practicing the leadership skills,
being the line leader.
Getting ready for morning prayer and school announcements.
**** FLASHBACK ****
This was from their first day of school when
Magoo just turned 4 years old and Sweet Pea was just turning 3.
1 comment:
Good to see you back!
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