Ruby and Ada started school a week after we moved in, the third week in September. It was a looooooong summer and they were ready!
When Steve and I visited here this summer to find a house we also checked out a school where I had enrolled the girls. It was the one thing that I just didn't feel 100% certain about when we returned from our trip. But, just like the crazy way we found our house, God had plans for a preschool too. The wife of the couple we are renting from is the director of a Parents Day Out and Preschool program at a church in Waco and, after finding out we have kids, she sent me a bunch of info about it. I'm sure I drove her crazy emailing and calling asking a million questions, but in the end it felt like a much better fit than the original school (even sight unseen!). The girls and I went to check it out a few days after we arrived and we all loved it! (I'm even going to sub there and take over when a teacher goes on maternity leave.)
Both girls go to school on Monday and Wednesday 9:00-2:00, and Ruby also goes on Thursdays. It is so. quiet. here. for Mom! I've been busy getting things settled and what-not, but it sure is strange not having them around all the time.
Ada has been pretty hesitant at drop-off, with some tears, but once I'm out the door she's been doing great playing with the other kids, eating lunch, and even napping there. Steve and I still can't quite wrap our heads around the fact that she'll nap there on her little mat next to 8 or so other kiddos, but she's slept over an hour every day so far! It's so fun picking her up, seeing her big smile, and hearing her tell about Miss Jessica (who has got to be the sweetest teacher ever!) and all of the fun things they get to do! She tells us all about the songs they sing and projects they do and her friends' names so I know she loves it! I even get pics texted to me- the best!
And Ada still gets one day to stay home and do stuff with Mom while Ruby is at school.
Ruby transitioned to her new school like a pro and just loves it! (We bought her backpack per instructions from the first preschool and it turns out she doesn't need it because they made cool school bags for all of the preschoolers. Guess we'll tuck it away and use it for Kindergarten next year!) Ru has two amazing teachers that structure the class almost like Kindergarten- it seems to be the exact amount of stimulation, challenge, and play she needs. There are 11 kids in her class and she's made lots of friends right off the bat. She has done some of the cutest projects
and she loves doing her weekly homework (practicing writing a letter of the week and cutting out pictures that start with that letter).
She also brings home a reading log to keep track of the books we read at home. Once she reads 10 books she brings it back in for a prize. Bahahaha... if the teachers only knew that girl reads 10 books a day!!! I think Ruby's favorite thing about preschool is the field trips they get to take each week. Every Thursday they load 11 preschoolers into 11 carseats in a van and take them all over Waco and then to the park for a picnic lunch. So far she's been to the children's museum, fire station, police station, dentist office, airport, on a trolley ride, on a houseboat, the library, visited the Baylor Bears, and to the Heart of Texas fair! She's only been to school, what, three? four weeks?! Most Thursdays they go to 2 or 3 places! She's going to know this city way better than the rest of us!
The teacher in me very much approves of Columbus Avenue PDO and PreK! I am so incredibly thankful that we found a great school that is the perfect fit for both of my girls.
Big smile from the North!
ReplyDeleteSounds perfect!! So glad you found such a great school!
ReplyDeleteThey are just too grown up with their backpacks on! Glad they have adjusted so well.
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