Over the summer last year, they went to a couple of different VBS in the morning and I realized with Alyssa's nap schedule, this made MUCH more sense for us. Lyssie could get her morning nap, Tyce and Shay could get a lot of energy out first thing in the morning and we could all go do something in the afternoon together. Win/win.
Unfortunately, FOCCP morning class was full when I started looking into morning class options. We called and toured several other preschools in our area in search for the perfect fit. I had heard great things about United Methodist Preschool and after touring twice and meeting the director, we decided this would be a great fit for us … or so we thought :/ …
Their first (and last) day of Pre-K at United Methodist was the day after Labor Day:
A little nervous to start a new school (actually, I think I was much more nervous for them to start than they were)
Honestly, I'm sure this is a great school and for full-time working parents it makes a lot of sense because it is a daycare and preschool combined. We had a couple of hiccups on the first day, which made me really second guess our decision to make this switch … first (and most surprising), the teacher that the director raved and told me all about had decided not to come back after her maternity leave, surprise! So, they had a new teacher, who I'm sure was good, but she did seem a little, um, frazzled?
Secondly, they hadn't put Tycen and Shaylie on the fall class list so when we got there, there was more confusion and since the director wasn't in the building yet, no one knew exactly what to do with us. What I soon realized was that all of the other kids had been going to daycare all summer long, so for them, this wasn't a big "first day of school" but just another day where they happened to go to preschool during their day at daycare. This made it a little weird for Tyce and Shay, as they were the only "new" kids who didn't quite know the ropes. And also for Scott and I, we felt very out-of-the-loop and just uneasy about the whole thing.
When I got in my car, I immediately started making phone calls to see if I could get the kids back at FOCCP. By the grace of God, there had been 2 kids (twins) who had dropped out of the fall morning class! That meant Tyce and Shay could make the switch!! The only downside was that morning Pre-K at FOCCP was only 3 days per week (MWF) for 2.5 hrs per day (9-11:30 am). I was hoping to put them in school a little longer this year to somewhat prepare them for FULL day kindergarten next year, however, I knew that this was still the best option for them.
It was a little awkward explaining to United Methodist why we were pulling our kids out after one day and as kind/respectful we tried to be with the whole thing, they did seem to be a little offended by our decision, however, I just knew in my gut this was the right thing for our kids.
The kids and I walked to Chuck's grocery store after their first (and last) day of Pre-K and I told them the news. They didn't think too much of it but were excited to go back to the school that they know with the teachers that they love :)
(all their friends from class last year would still be in the afternoon class, so they'll be making all new friends in the morning class this year)
FOCCP first day of school was the week after United Methodist, so Tyce and Shay got a few extra days of summer! And next week, first day of Pre-K, Take Two!! :)
