Preschool Morning

Friday was our first day being Parent of the Day in the three year old class.  Matthew was radiantly happy that Mommy got to stay with him at preschool!  (He wasn't so happy when I had to leave after snack time -- the threes do Parent of the Day for the first part of the morning rather than at the end -- but he cheered back up again quickly.)

I was very impressed with their teacher (and assistant teacher). The activities they set up were both fun for the kids but also specifically designed to develop (and assess) age-appropriate skills.  The teacher is so upbeat and enthusiastic, and also very good at encouraging independence. They also help work on self-control (e.g., waiting to have their name called to line up for the playground, etc.). It just seems like an excellent learning environment.

One little thing I really liked is that if a kid is upset, the teacher will give them a big hug or pick them up if that's what they need, and it seems like that really helps get the kids to turn their mood around.  They didn't seem to do that much in the Twos, which maybe is a function of the age or other constraints, but I think this style works well for Mattie and it seemed to with other kids as well.

The teachers are also completely on board with encouraging James to speak up in the classroom, but to be honest, he seems to be doing well at that on his own, at least for the brief time I was there.  Ms. S also said that he always participated in the class activities, and she said that when she went out in the hall, she started singing in a whisper to see who was paying attention -- and James was the first one to start to sing along.

Mattie and James seem to like spending time together at school, which is really nice to see, but they're also happy doing separate activities -- it seems like the right balance.