Although my hubby is a true trooper, I knew back last winter he'd need a break. (Despite his protests to the opposite the past six months.) I stood in line and registered Micah for MDO at our church in February. Literally, I got the only spot open. Since last winter, Micah has dropped one of his naps (which was his daddy's crutch to make it all day), and I really think kids do best to be around other kids. This is just a personal opinion, of course, but I am a school teacher. So of course I think Micah should be exposed to other kids. (Although, I do see lots and lots of points of my homeschooling friends, too. I've even thought about homeschooling myself. So I guess we'll see.)
At any rate, our church's program is Biblically based, and it isn't stressful academics. I'm not one of "those moms" who thinks he needs to read independently at age three. I honestly don't want him to worry with "academics" at this point. I don't need him to be in the "best preschool" in the city. I think that stuff is kind of over the top. I want him to absorb the Bible and learn as much as we can teach him spiritually. I try not to compare him to other kids his age. And I hope to think that as a teacher, I'll try to be a laid back mom. I want to be involved but not annoying to his teacher.
I don't really like to miss work, but at the same time...I wanted to enjoy Open House, meet Micah's teachers, see his "classroom" (which is really the Sunday school room next door), drop off his supplies, and reassure him things would be fine. Going to our church seemed like a good choice because Micah knows the building, we know people up there, and it is close to our home. I was so surprised to see how shy he was today!! He hid behind me most of the time. About thirty minutes into the day, he warmed up and started playing independently with some toys. I was also shocked to see our pastor's grandson and the pastor's wife in the room when I arrived. That made me feel a whole lot better. I mean, if it is good enough for the pastor's family...right? Our pastor's daughter-in-law apparently works and Mrs. Rhonda will drop off her grandson two days a week. Their grandson is about six weeks older than Micah. Our church is kind of big, though. Our pastor doesn't know us, but maybe one day we'll know him better now? Who knows? He might be friends with Micah growing up. Haha!
This is Micah's teacher Mrs. Tracy. I found this picture hilarious because she wasn't quite ready, and Micah was giving me his latest "cheese" face.
Still a little apprehensive, but otherwise doing well.
Super excited! Yeah for Mother's Day Out (for daddies, too)!
Micah and I outside his classroom.
His name tag on the door. (I blurred out his last name. Thanks, Amanda, for giving me that tip!)
Here is the display outside of his classroom door with all the name tags and the class list. (I also blurred out the last names since I don't know any of the parents.)
We also met his sweet assistant teacher Mrs. Linda, but I wasn't able to get a picture with her. I hope I didn't offend her!
He's going to have a fun little schedule:
9:00-9:30 Arrival
9:30-10:00 Craft
10:00-10:30 Playtime
10:30-11:00 Clean up and prepare for lunch
11:00 Lunch
11:30-12:00 Storytime or Music
12:00-1:30 Naptime
1:30-2:00 Prepare for dismissal
I love his class objectives (I'll take a picture of the list later):
1. Parent/Child separation
2. Group snack time at table, lunch time, and nap time
3. Learning to play in a group, as well as, by himself/herself
4. Learning to share
5. Participating in music time and story time
6. Exposure to colors, shapes, body parts, numbers, and alphabet
7. Establishing manners
8. Establishing a prayer routine
Can I just tell you how those "objectives" make me laugh--in a good way. (You should see my list of second grade objectives.) At the same time, I'm really proud to send him to a place that puts prayer on a list for objectives of a two year old. He'll also be participating in KinderMusik every Thursday. I think our church does a great job of reaching the world for Christ through something as small as a MDO program that is heavy on faith in Jesus.
At any rate, I wanted to record all this "stuff" because I know I won't remember one of these days. His childhood is already just flying by too fast! He officially starts "school" next Tuesday, and my principal (who is marvelous!) is letting me come in late so I can drop him off on his first day. (His school starts when my school starts, so I'll probably be about 30 minutes late.) After that, it is all up to Daddy! I'm feeling more like a mom now. I will have a lunch to pack next week! =)
Milestones fly by, don't they? I hope you are having a wonderful week!
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