Tam has now been at Preschool for two and half weeks (so 5 sessions). Oh my, he absolutely loves it. They play outside at the start of the day, then play inside, read stories, share toys, sing songs, make messes, paint, eat snacks, etc. for the rest of the 2 hours. I get a note in his totebag each day that denotes what their learning topic was does and what went down in the classroom. The totebag is brilliant; each kid gets the same style bright red bag with their name on it that they bring each day. Tam easily recognizes the bag...and has started recognizing his name too, or at least the"T." So far, Tam's been learning about snow and birds. This means he's been drawing / painting birds at school and telling me about penguins and home. One of the things he talked on about was how he "skating" in class on the tile floor in his socks and that his slippers weren't slippery enough.
He has even had a turn already at the "Share bag." This is a smallish tote that a kid utilizes to bring home something he likes to share with the class during circle time. Any guesses as to what Tam brought in? Oh, yeah. He shared one of his McQueen cars. :-)Now how did I choose this school? 1. I knew where it was located, and that it was down the road from my work. 2. They had an opening in the 3year old program starting in January. 3. The price was pretty reasonable. I did visit before enrolling Tam, but really, all I noticed was that the kids seemed happy and the teachers seemed nice (no massive hysterics, crying, blood, torture, vomit, etc.). The school does brag that they have small classes, 14 students max, with two certified teachers.
Well, I finally remembered to bring my camera with me when I picked up Tam this Tuesday. He gave me the grand tour of the classroom showing off some of the key toys...especially the trucks and garages. He also pointed out some of his art projects...like doily snowman and sparkly snowflakes. I'm always a bit surprised when the artwork is recognizable and not just random...and that he has some narrative to say about it.
Then, he had to tell me that he was too tired to get his boots and coat on! He was tired until Jude started to poke at him and I mentioned that we were leaving for lunch. Then, he jumped up and asked if we could go do the "elcalator". This is his mash-up universal term for escalators and elevators. His classroom is on the 2.5 floor, so there is an elevator to ride. . . and yes, we usually ride down in it if he asks nicely.
All in all, I'm pleased with the place, the program, the learning, the teachers, and how much fun Tam is having. Good thing, because I have already put down a deposit on their 4-year old program for next fall!
