This week I'm slowing phasing in the three littles to a real preschool (vs. the little homeschool preschool I've been doing). Today we visited for an hour, with me staying with the kids.
When we arrived we brought a gift to the secretary and each kid had a gift book in their backpack to present to the classroom. That went well. My kids love to give gifts and it made a smooth transition into the room.
Then it was time to join centers. James had cried all the way from the car into the school, saying "preschool was scary" so he was hiding behind my legs at first. Then the teacher lured him off in hunt of animals and they found a tub of figurines. He happily sat on a rug lining up each animal after first showing it to me and asking me to name it. I sat in a chair a little ways away and tried not to only focus on him so he wouldn't expect nonstop mommy attention but felt safe all the same.
Jane was gone. I looked up and she was fully immersed with kids at a center. I don't think she even glanced my way for the whole hour. She's been saying she's bored at home and she was thrilled when I said they'd be going to school. For the past three days she's been dancing and singing about new friends. I'm glad that now she'll be getting the social interaction she's been craving. And I'm glad that she can so easily transition into new social settings. But...I'm also aware that this is a sign that she's isn't fully attached and is completely unbothered by leaving us and going with new people. It's a bit sad because I just don't know if she'll ever really, fully attach.
Kate was a mix of James and Jane. She's a social butterfly who trotted off to play with kids right away, but then she also swooped back to touch base with me every 10 minutes or so. She's the picture of healthy attachment--confident but wanting connection, also. Just now as I'm typing this she came and climbed onto my lap and put her arms around me and said, "You are always my mommy". She loves to say this, especially because I repeat it back to her.
So, pretty much what I expected. James struggling with transitions. Jane off and running, not looking back. Kate needing some support but pretty confident on her own.
I predict that in a few days Jane will have some regression in behavior. It'll suddenly occur to her that life has changed and she'll worry about that but be unable to express it with words so she'll have to express it through negative behaviors. Interestingly, in the past few weeks Jane has suddenly grown in emotional maturity and she's been able to articulate why she behaves a certain way. Since starting the Sensory Path in the house I've used it to help her identify and regulate her body/emotions and I think that's been a good feedback loop for her to understand the connection between her emotions and what she does with her body. So, maybe she'll weather this transition better than I predict. That'd be nice.
I predict James will grow more comfortable each day until he feels he "owns" the classroom and he'll be telling everyone else how things work. He'll hate to leave preschool for the summer and be eager to go back next fall. School will be his favorite place. He'll love the structure (this is based on James' extreme similarity to his oldest brother, Seth).
Kate...hmm. I'm not so sure. I predict she'll do whatever is typical for a 3 yr old girl.
When we arrived we brought a gift to the secretary and each kid had a gift book in their backpack to present to the classroom. That went well. My kids love to give gifts and it made a smooth transition into the room.
Then it was time to join centers. James had cried all the way from the car into the school, saying "preschool was scary" so he was hiding behind my legs at first. Then the teacher lured him off in hunt of animals and they found a tub of figurines. He happily sat on a rug lining up each animal after first showing it to me and asking me to name it. I sat in a chair a little ways away and tried not to only focus on him so he wouldn't expect nonstop mommy attention but felt safe all the same.
Jane was gone. I looked up and she was fully immersed with kids at a center. I don't think she even glanced my way for the whole hour. She's been saying she's bored at home and she was thrilled when I said they'd be going to school. For the past three days she's been dancing and singing about new friends. I'm glad that now she'll be getting the social interaction she's been craving. And I'm glad that she can so easily transition into new social settings. But...I'm also aware that this is a sign that she's isn't fully attached and is completely unbothered by leaving us and going with new people. It's a bit sad because I just don't know if she'll ever really, fully attach.
Kate was a mix of James and Jane. She's a social butterfly who trotted off to play with kids right away, but then she also swooped back to touch base with me every 10 minutes or so. She's the picture of healthy attachment--confident but wanting connection, also. Just now as I'm typing this she came and climbed onto my lap and put her arms around me and said, "You are always my mommy". She loves to say this, especially because I repeat it back to her.
So, pretty much what I expected. James struggling with transitions. Jane off and running, not looking back. Kate needing some support but pretty confident on her own.
I predict that in a few days Jane will have some regression in behavior. It'll suddenly occur to her that life has changed and she'll worry about that but be unable to express it with words so she'll have to express it through negative behaviors. Interestingly, in the past few weeks Jane has suddenly grown in emotional maturity and she's been able to articulate why she behaves a certain way. Since starting the Sensory Path in the house I've used it to help her identify and regulate her body/emotions and I think that's been a good feedback loop for her to understand the connection between her emotions and what she does with her body. So, maybe she'll weather this transition better than I predict. That'd be nice.
I predict James will grow more comfortable each day until he feels he "owns" the classroom and he'll be telling everyone else how things work. He'll hate to leave preschool for the summer and be eager to go back next fall. School will be his favorite place. He'll love the structure (this is based on James' extreme similarity to his oldest brother, Seth).
Kate...hmm. I'm not so sure. I predict she'll do whatever is typical for a 3 yr old girl.
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