Tyce and Shay just miss the cutoff of September 1st to be in the 4 year-old class, so this year they will be in the 3 year-old Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday preschool class from 12:15-2:45 pm. Scott and I are glad that they'll be on the older side for their grade. It turns out that the majority of their preschool class turns 4 before the end of this year, which is nice since there's so much of a difference between a 3 year-old and 4 year-old.
Pictures before leaving for their big first day:
This is one of my favorite pictures of Tycen and Shaylie...
We enrolled them in Family of Christ Christian Preschool (FOCCP). We went to two different preschools last spring to observe and ended up observing at FOCCP twice. We different things about both schools, but ultimately chose this preschool mainly because they believe in a play-based learning style, which I think is so important for this age. Kids learn by playing.
I didn't want them to be forced into memorizing or formal academic training at too early of an age because, especially for boys, this can give them a bad experience and turn them away from learning. It was our goal to find a place that would facilitate a good foundation for a love of learning. FOCCP does a lot of 'choice' time which allows the students to engage in different learning activities that they choose, which again, is very important for kids this age.
Tyce and Shay were pretty shy and apprehensive the first day of school. Actually, the first several weeks they had a difficult time at drop-off. We knew it was short-lived and that as soon as we left, they had a great time and were always so happy when we picked them up. After a few weeks, though, they had no problem at all and they always get excited to go to school. Sometimes, they even forget to say good-bye to us :)
One of their teachers, Miss Annie, greeted them at the door:
There are 14 kids in their class, including Tycen and Shaylie. It's so cute to see them making friends at school. I love hearing them talk about their friends and we've been doing play dates with their close friends outside of school, too. Their teachers are Miss Julie and Miss Annie and they are so great. The kids just love them. Shaylie often draws pictures for her teachers at home and brings them to class to give to them. After the first month or so, I asked Miss Annie how they're doing in class and this is what she said...
"They're doing great! They always want to do the 'right' thing and listen very well. Shaylie is a little artist and loves to draw and write. Tycen is the little 'man' of the class and likes to make sure all the girls are OK and taken care of. He cracks me up!" Ha! Oh, boy, a little ladies' man already :P
Tyce and Shay will have one more year of preschool before they start Kindergarten (thank goodness, I'm not ready for school school yet! :) As much as I'm sad that they're growing up so fast, I'm also so happy for them that they have something in their lives that is their own and they are so proud of it. I pray that they have a very positive experience in school and truly develop a love for learning. They are so smart already and are just little sponges. I look forward to watching them learn, helping them learn, and learning with them in the years to come!
