Trevor started preschool this year!
School isn’t new for him though. He’s already done one and a half years at the same Montessori school. But this year, he’s out of the toddler and transitional programs. And he’s in a mixed classroom with children as young as 2 1/2 and as old as 6. The idea behind the mixed age classroom is that the older kids gain a strong sense of pride and competence from teaching the younger kids. And the younger kids really look up to and love to learn from the older kids. The teachers try to step back and interfere less and allow the kids to grow and explore in their own unique ways.
Trevor really enjoys this school. He actually sometimes says, “I love school so much!” So, even though it’s not the closest or most convenient school, we’re continuing with this school he loves.
Aside from all of these great things about preschool, what’s the tough stuff?
Well, all of his back-to-school photos came out extremely blurry. I was having such a struggle getting Trevor dressed and out the door, I didn’t even notice my camera was completely out of focus. So I had to do a “reshoot” today (!) in order to have any photos at all. Trying to get him dressed and fed and also get the dog outside and fed and get myself put together, all while Tru is barreling through the house on his bike and singing at the top of his lungs: kids have their own agenda and it’s often the polar opposite of the parent’s. I sometimes find myself grinding my teeth and clenching the steering wheel by the time we’re in the car!
Trevor has seemed really happy once he’s actually in the classroom, but each morning before he leaves, he’s been saying that he doesn’t want to go to school. So it’s taking some daily persuading to entice him to get into the car. Sometimes I resort to bribing: “we can play on the playground after I pick you up!” So that’s another stressful situation: it breaks my heart to force Tru to do something he doesn’t want to do. I try to emphasize that he still has freedom and choice with most of his day: “we can play whatever you want to play when I pick you up.” I’m hoping the “I love school” attitude comes back as he gets settled with his new classroom and new teachers and classmates.
On the first day, I did shed tears on my drive back home after dropping off Tru. It’s hard for me – always – to trust that life is going to keep him safe and protected. What happens if another child is cruel to him? What if he is the cruel one? What if he hurts himself while the teachers are distracted with other kids? The list of fears goes on and on and on if I don’t actively focus on other things. Also: yesterday, Tru was a baby in my arms. And now he’s in preschool. And I have whiplash from how quickly time flashed by!
Oh, and Trevor was in school for a grand total of two days before he caught his first cold of the year! On the night he got sick, he was up seven times throughout the night, fussing and whining, because his nose was stuffy and his throat was dry. A day or two later, Chris and I were sick too. The first cold of the year hit us all pretty hard. I wish the constant sickness didn’t have to be a part of early childhood but it seems like – as soon as they start school – there’s just no way around it.
Trevor’s Favorite Things Right Now:
- Water parks and amusement parks (especially roller coasters – he’s so much more daring than me!)
- Playgrounds (especially sandboxes and big slides)
- “Dwivin’ wange” (driving range) and mini golf
- T-ball
- Building BRIO train tracks
- Going to the toy store (last time we visited, he chose something other than a toy car. Very rare! He chose an ice cream cone kit.)
- Sweeping dirt off of the driveway with his mini broom
- Riding his tricycle and his red Hot Wheels jeep when we go for walks
- Watching his new favorite show, Tayo The Little Bus, on TV
- Watching Blippi on YouTube
- Listening to country music radio at home and in the car (“I like this one! Turn it up!”)
- Picking “fruits and vegetables” in the backyard garden (he loves to pick from “his” chives that he helped to plant)
- Baking muffins
- Going to the bakery (he likes sugar cookies with rainbow sprinkles or colorful frosting)
- Going to the beach (he loves to play in the sand)
- Going for a hike or a trip into Boston
- Ice cream (especially chocolate chip)
- Playing “rough and tumble” (jumping and somersaulting on the bed, wrestling, getting spun around and flipped upside down, etc.)
- Eating dirt (he won’t touch anything I cook but he seriously loves dirt)
Trevor’s Sweetest Sayings Right Now:
- “Fudderflies” (fireflies)
- “va-yi-ya” (vanilla)
- When he talks about something that happened in the past, even a few weeks ago, he’ll say it happened “yestehday”
- “Evermore” (he uses this word in place of both “anymore” and “forever”)
- When he’s making up a story: “does that make sense?”
- And when I ask him to do something he doesn’t want to: “that doesn’t make any sense!”
Trevor’s Nicknames Right Now:
- Tru
- Tru Mike
- Mr. Baby
