Preparing for Preschool

Lovey starts preschool in exactly three days. Most days she is so excited can hardly stand the wait. “How many days ‘til school? Is it just one day? Can I go to school tomorrow? Can we practice school today? Let’s do story time. Let’s practice writing my letters!” Then she starts to feel overwhelmed by the thought of leaving me and says, “I don’t want to go to school anymore. I’m going to miss you too much. I just want to be with you forever.” She is my Velcro-baby. She is always next to me, as close as she can get. I say often that if she could crawl back into my uterus and hang out for a while she totally would. Eating lunch, our chairs are touching, and she is on the far edge of her seat so that at minimum our sides touch while we eat. For about the first year after I weaned her from the breast, she had to hold my hand while we ate every meal. She sleeps next me in bed every night and crawls into my arms as soon as she wakes for hour long cuddles. If we have to rush to get up and get ready for something and she doesn’t get her cuddles, her whole day is off. She plays independently during the day and loves to be outside with Daddy, but she always comes back to my arms for a quick cuddle.

I always intended to home school her, but I know that she needs this school year away. She needs a place where she can be her own person. Where she can have her own thing. Since having Nature Baby, Lovey has had to share her most prized possession, Me. She has been very gracious but I know it wears on her when I can’t do a painting project with her because NB will get into the paint, or we can’t dance together because NB needs to have a nap. She needs play time where she won’t be interrupted by baby’s nap. She needs other kids to be silly with and create bonds with. I know she will love school. She loves to learn, it comes naturally for her. She does addition and subtraction every day just in her play. She loves to be read to and loves to make up her own stories. She also loves to do worksheets from preschool and kindergarten workbooks we have. We are blessed to be able to send her to a great school, the school where I taught all those years before having her. I know the teachers, the principle, the school board members. I trust them. I have security in knowing that she will be cared for and safe. I couldn’t send her to any school but this. She is going to have a blast!

There are a few things we are doing to prepare for preschool.

               Gear: She picked out her backpack and water bottle. We ordered them online to get the best deal and find something different. I made her cozy nap mat cover complete with one of her baby blankets for extra coziness. I made her cute cloth napkins for her lunch box and bought her a special fork and spoon. I searched and searched and finally found BPA-free, phthalate free, lead-free, all-that-other-bad-stuff-free food storage containers. I love these reusable sandwich bags (bottom right).

Bedtime: I have been pushing her bedtime up for a few weeks now. Lovey is a night owl and she loves to sleep in. I can’t stand waking a sleeping child. It just doesn’t seem right. They need to sleep to grow and be healthy and happy. But because school starts at 8, she’ll need to be up around 7. Probably 6:30 to include cuddle time, but that just seems so early.

               Morning Routine: Lovey is a slow mover in the morning. I made a chart with the things she needs to do in the morning. Get dressed, brush teeth, brush hair, put on shoes, grab backpack. (She will eat breakfast in the car, since I’m sure we will run out of time quickly and we have about a 5-10 minute drive depending on traffic.)

               Special token: I bought these sweet charms and put them on a necklace for each of us. She can wear hers to school and when she feels too far from me, she can look at it and know she is in my heart and I am in her heart. I’ll give the necklace to her the night before her first day of school. My mother in law also bought a special book for me to read to her the night before her big day.

(Her necklace is above, mine below.)

               Gift for her teacher: We decided we should bring a gift to her teacher on the first day of school. She said she wants to bring some books for the classroom. I also want to include something sweet just for her teacher and aide so I’ll most likely get some good chocolate.

 I can’t wait to see her in her backpack, all ready for a big girl adventure. I know there will be tears (mine) that first day. I’m sure I’ll drop her off then sit for the next 7 hours and hold nature baby and cry that my big girl is off to school. The good thing is she only goes three days a week so we get a whole day of cuddles between!