Transition to Preschool

Yesterday DH and I had a parent-teacher conference with DS1's "Toddler" teacher and the "Preschool" teacher at daycare. Since his birthday is this coming Sunday (turning 3!), he will "transition" next week, spending a little more time each day in the new room. There are 2 or 3 kids in the room that have moved up within the past month, so at least he will have a few friends that he knows.

We were impressed by the classroom and the playground. The room does look more like a "classroom", but that's primarily because the teacher does so many more specific "hands-on" activities. They still get "free play" time, inside and outside. The room has a loft, 2 computers, a book corner, an aquarium, 2 toilet rooms (that used to have doors), and direct access to the HUGE playground. The playground has some bigger equipment for climbing, swings, slides, a house, a sandbox, a trike path, and lots more running around space.

The only down side that I forsee is that the preschool teacher works 9 months a year. She takes mid-May through mid-August off. So DS1 will be with her only 2-3 weeks before she is gone for 3 months. The lead teaching assistant will take over for the summer. She is quite competent, but I wish the main teacher worked a 12 month contract with a week off here and there, instead of the whole summer off. But, since she is the one with the most seniority (been there since the center opened, less a couple of years elsewhere), it's probably the only way to keep her on staff.

We really think DS1 will like his new groups of "big kid" friends and the teachers & class activities. They eat both breakfast and lunch about 30 minutes later than his current class, but that should be okay since they get snacks. Also, naps are 60-90 minutes instead of up to 2 hours. We were warned that he might be exhausted and go to sleep early, especially at first. (Okay with us!)