>Punky’s First Day of School
>Wednesday was Punky’s first day of preschool.
“You’re starting school today!” I said when she woke up. “How do you feel?”
“Good,” she said. I looked at her wistfully, unable to believe my baby was now officially a preschooler. Impulsively, I gave her a hug. She smiled. “Snuggle,” she murmured, nestling in my arms. We sat that way for a moment until finally, I released my grip.
“We’ve got to get ready for preschool now,” I said. “We don’t have much time. It starts in one hour.”
I made Punky breakfast, brushed her teeth, helped her get dressed, and fixed her hair, my stomach churning all the while. Finally, I couldn’t put it off any longer. It was time for my little girl to go to school. I heard the doorbell ring and took a deep breath.
“Punky, it’s time,” I said nervously. “Come on.” I held out my hand and she took it. Together, we walked to the front door and I opened it.
“Hey guys,” I said. Two of my friends and their three children were standing there. “Come on in.” Together, we all went up to our playroom, which had been miraculously transformed into a preschool classroom. “Okay, kids,” I said. ” Let’s all sit in a circle together. Today, we’re going to talk about opposites!”
I know, I know. It sounds crazy, but it’s true. Two of my playgroup friends and I are running our own preschool. I think all of us were nervous that first day; we had divided up activities like Art and Science and Music among ourselves and none of us knew how the whole thing would pan out. But in the end, it was a success. Our four students did all of the activities with enthusiasm and even Bruiser sat happily in his bouncer throughout the morning, learning by osmosis, we decided.
StorytimeOf course, most of Punky’s friends started “real” preschools this week, heading off to brightly lit buildings with cubbies and pocket charts and sleep mats and state regulations. Anticipating this, I have to admit I spent more than a few sleepless nights worrying that I was depriving Punky of what surely would have been a wonderful experience, if only I’d had the funds.
But then on Tuesday, I realized something important. Yes, I had lots of fond preschool memories from my own childhood. But Punky will have memories like that, too, and the cool thing is that instead of random teachers she’ll never see again, I will be in them. She’ll grow up knowing that I was her first teacher and maybe one day, she’ll really appreciate the effort I’m making now.
So I think I’ve made the right decision for us, especially after the conversation we had Wednesday afternoon, a few hours after preschool had ended.
“Remember all the opposites we learned today, Punky?” I asked. “In, out. Front, back. Hot, cold.” She nodded, then put one finger to her cheek.
“Upstairs,” she said thoughtfully, before looking at me with a gleam in her eye. “Downstairs!!”
“That’s right!” I said excitedly. “Wow, you came up with that on your own! Good job!”
“Boy….. Girl!” she shouted.
“Yes! That’s wonderful, Punky!”
For the rest of the week, she’s pointed out opposites everywhere. I’m so proud of my little Punky.
And I’m pretty sure that next week, she’ll finally be ready to tackle Quantum Physics. And Japanese. And maybe Algebra, if we have time.
>I’d suggest Algebra first. Qphys has quite a bit of math involved. (By my practical suggestion you can tell that I have total faith in the fact that she can do it.)
>Yes, because she can count to 40- What more could she possibly need to know?
>Good for you! What a fun thing! And no need to rush them off to preschool if you have other options.
>Good you you!! Here’s a site that is great for printing up activities.Learning Pages.comMy autistic son loves practicing what he is learning in kindergarten and it also gives you the choice in handwriting styles. They have it broken down by past years activites, seasons, and theme. Check it out!!
>Excellent! You guys rock, Lindsay. How do you know what to cover? (I’m clueless)
>On this decision, I think you nailed it. It sounds wonderful!
>This is a great idea. I’m already thinking of putting off preschool for as long as possible.”Free” sounds nice too.I know that in Knoxville they have “homeschooling Tuesdays” at the zoo. Maybe there are similar programs around Nashville.
>Oh, how neat! That sounds like a lot of fun for the kids and he adults as well. 🙂 I never sent my son to preschool, per se, but we did a lot of activities together and he was well prepared for kindergarten. Sounds like your daughter is getting the added benefit of socializing a lot with her peers. Very cool. 🙂
>I think that is an AWESOME idea! If only I’d thought of it before my girlfriends put their kids in “real” preschools. I LOVE it! Kudos on the great idea. 🙂
>There are a ton of free resources on the Internet, so that’s been very helpful.I also bought two books on Amazon that contain everything your child should have mastered by the end of kindergarten. They both begin with the skills your child should have beginning kindergarten and they were ridiculously simple- counting to ten, knowing colors and the alphabet and basic shapes… Punky’s already mastered all of that, which makes preschool far less stressful. Next week, we’re doing fairy tales, so today we went to a fairy tale exhibit at the botanical gardens here.
>Please don’t tell me you are going to home-school her all the way! I didn’t go to school outside the house until I was 6! and oh boy! I was weird, or at least other kids thought I was!
>Wow! Our playgroup has just been discussing doing the same. Which books did you find helpful? Any favorite internet resources? Our kids are all just 2, so we’ve just begun considering it.Good luck!
>City Gal, my elementary school is the best in the district, so I’m absolutely sending her there when she turns five in two years. I think most kids are a little “weird” at six, though. I remember lots of kids starting school for the first time at that age when I was in first grade, and lots of different personalities that got ironed out in the next couple of years… Anyway, as far as Punky goes, next year is up in the air- we’ll see how the home preschool does. I’d like to do one day in a classroom next year and one day in the home program. I’m in no rush to have her in a classroom every day until she has to be there.Andrea, I’m going to try and get our lesson plans and resources up on a second blog- I hate to do all this work and have it only benefit four kids. I’ll write something on this blog when I have it ready to go…
>sounds awesome! just because it’s not “real” doesn’t mean it’s not amazing!
>Today I put the baby’s potty chair in the kitchen, so it’s more accessible. He asked me “why?” and I said, “So it’s centrally located.”There’s nothing funnier than hearing a two-and-a-half year old say “Centwally wocated.”
>We are kind of doing both. He goes to preschool and I teach him at home too. Reinforcement, I guess. Since he is an only child I thought he needed to get into a social setting so he can develop those skills and I can’t give that to him by myself. He loves his school but I think he likes working with me at home just as much! Have fun!
>I am awestruck! Actually, my first thought was, “how long can she keep this up?” but that is all about my personal parenting issues, not my faith in you!This isn’t going to turn into one of those blogs about how you homeschool your 7 children, 3 adopted from Africa, all well-behaved violin virtuosos who read and do math 5 years above their age level, will it? Cause I kind of hate those moms.
>”…I’m going to try and get our lesson plans and resources up on a second blog…”Please do! I am considering the same for our oldest!
>Hey, I am a preschool teacher, so if you ever need any ideas or anything send me an email!!! franksfelicia@gmail.com. I was thinking about doing the same thing when my little one gets there. She just turned one, so I have a few years
>That’s really cool. I’m impressed.
>Do you have ANY CLUE just exactly how hard you ROCK ???
>I think this is so cool! My daughter will be four next month and I’m keeping her home this year. We did preschool last year, but I think she was too young. She still has two more years before kindergarten. I’d love to hear more about this since I have quite a few friends who homeschool and would be willing to do something like this for their “littles.” My older son just started first grade (in a public charter school) and I so wish I had been able to do something like this for him. I’d like to be doing something for my daughter, especially since she is really benefiting from being home and being the “oldest” during the day (she has a younger brother who’s almost two). I’m looking forward to more information about what you’re doing!
>That is so sweet! My heart was pounding wondering how you guys had handled preschool. I’m so glad y’all are together and having fun while learning!!
>your homeschooling readers are thinking well of course. As well as good for you. I just spent the week constructing Montessori style activities for my 3 year old so she can do school too while I work with my 5 year old who is in his second year of reading already.If you need more ideas you might want to check out Mommy Teach Me by Barbara Curtiss. It’s packed with good, inexpensive ideas.
>My daughter didn’t do formal preschool either. She dropped in now and then at the day care where I worked. She was ready for kindergarten and loved to learn, so we must have done something right at home in those early years. It sounds like you are, too.
>My children have been in a montessori preschool since the age of 2 months. The have both thrived in the environment. It’s a tough choice, sending your children to preschool every day, but one my spouse and I have made, balancing career and family
>I hear you about the funds. Paige starts preschoo, next year and I am already wondering if I can somehoe magically shoot $100 a week out of my ass….. well, if Martina McBride can poop pink bows, surely I can poop Ben Franklin’s don’t you think???