When we took Monkey out of daycare in January, we knew it was a good thing.
Hubster had finished up his dental school prerequisites and with only DAT study left to do, it meant that he would be able to be home with Bug and Monkey full time.
Daycare had been a regular part of our lives for several years now.
At first, my parents watched Bug when when I returned to school when he was only 6 weeks old. A few months later, when my parents moved, Hubster's sister watched Bug during the rest of my undergraduate career and my first year of medical school. When she had a baby, and was no longer able to, we found another family friend to watch him.
And then we had Monkey.
It's one thing to ask friends and family to babysit (full time no less) when you have one child. Two kids? Now that's another thing entirely.
We also found ourselves needing to live closer to school, which made any individual we trusted with our children at least 30 minutes away. Too far to drive on a daily basis.
So we enrolled the boys in daycare.
I wasn't there the first day they were dropped off. I was away on my internal medicine clerkship of medical school. I didn't have to undergo what Hubster went through. He still describes it as one of the hardest days of parenting so far...to leave your child at daycare for the first time.
Fast forward three years, and the thought of being done with daycare (at least for now) made us all want to dance with joy.
Everyone, it turns out, except for Monkey.
Daycare (or "school" as we call it) had become such a regular part of our lives that for Monkey, it was perfectly normal.
After he stopped going, he was sad for days. He missed his friends, he missed his teachers, he missed the games and activities and crafts.
I like to think of this as a good thing. It means that we had a great care center (which we absolutely did...best in our city!). And it also means that we've been successful in not transferring all the guilt we had about daycare to our children.
It's several months later, and Monkey still talks about missing school.
So we've decided to enroll him in preschool this fall. He will get social interaction, activities, and academics.
(And Hubster will get 2 half days a week to himself. For home improvement or study. Or golf, if we're being completely honest.)
Thanks to the recommendation of a friend, we decided to check out a preschool on the outside of town.
They had a spot.
And more importantly, we love it! The place is on a small farm, and it's amazing. I fell in love with the place just walking through the front door of the farmhouse that is the school.
Monkey is already talking about how excited he is to go there.
It feels good to be doing something because it is the right thing for our children, and not just a matter of convenience.
And now, I'm excited for school to start too!
That is so fantastic. My son who is 4 started school three days a week last fall and he loves it. This week he was "mad" because it wasn't a school day. As much as I adore having him home and I was an elementary school teacher before children, it is truly a great feeling to know that your children are well cared for and love going.
ReplyDeleteYour school sounds fantastic. Can't wait to hear more about it as time gets closer.
That is awesome. A farmhouse...how wonderful. I took Lo to Chuck E Cheese this week and on our way there, he asked if he could go to school. I reminded him where he was going, and he said, "I know, but I miss my school."
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like such a fun school!
ReplyDeleteWhen my mom had to work, she left us with babysitters instead of a daycare, because babysitters were usually so much cheaper.
Oooh, boy! Do I have stories to blog about....
Yay! Glad to hear the transition to preschool is going well. My first child loved preschool (and still loves school to this day), but my second only lasted about 2 months at preschool and then I took her out—she did NOT like it (and it was the same school and teachers). She goes to school now, but only because she likes recess and her friends. I guess every kid is different! It'll be interesting to see how the twins do when their time comes . . .
ReplyDeleteYou loved preschool and we took you because you wanted to go to school so desperately and it was fun and lastly, because of all that, I might as well go to school too.
ReplyDeleteThe school sounds wonderful. I know he'll thrive! Yeah! Monkey!
Yesterday when I arrived to pick up my 5 year old who is in pre-K (she missed the cut off for Kindergarten), she literally burst into tears and told me to "I don't want to go home...I want bubbles!" The class had just gotten a new bubble machine and were just getting ready to go outside play. I thought, of course, she would be happy to see me as I was there a little early to get her. I felt so bad that I went to hang out in my younger daughter's classroom to give my older daughter some time to play outside with her friends and the bubbles. After giving it more thought, I guess I kind of equate it to us being with our friends and then realizing we have to go home because the sitter needs to leave. While a slight blow to the heart, it's understandable when I think about it that way.
ReplyDeleteThe new school sounds very exciting. Best of luck! I'm sure he'll love it just as much.
That school sounds so fabulous. I can imagine all the awesome activities they can do when they are that close to nature. It makes me jealous to think about it! I am glad you found a place that you like. I think preschool is a great thing- then again I may be a little bias:)
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