Time for New Discoveries

Zander started daycare when he was 7 weeks old—we knew one day we might  have to choose another school to help prepare him for kindergarten.  That time arrived last week…

I wasn’t convinced that Zander was learning everything he could while at school. I started to wonder if he would be ready for kindergarten this Fall.  If we sat down to go over the alphabet, he would guess at letters or just decide he didn’t want to review them.  I also noticed that he was having trouble writing letters and became easily frustrated when he didn’t know a letter.

To make sure I wasn’t the problem, I asked my sister to sit down with Zander and test him to find out what he knows.  As a first grade teacher, she has more patience and experience dealing with young children than I do. 

After a week at my parents house (aka the farm) being tutored by Jenni and Mimi, Zander came home knowing more letters.  They also gave me some tips on how to reinforce what they had covered and what I could do to continue to help him learn.

Zander went back to school and things just weren’t right.  There were behavior issues that were not being addressed and this moved over to life at home.

I checked out a daycare that was close to work, where several Red Hatter’s take their children.  I had already asked how they liked the center and received positive feedback.  When I arrived, I noticed things were different.

The lobby was large and bright. There were glass doors keeping non authorized people from entering the area where the children learn. These doors stay locked at all times and there is a unique code for each child that is used to get through these doors. This code also acts as a check-in, check-out tracker.

The administrative staff was very friendly and welcoming and answered all of my questions.  We walked down the hall to check out the 4 year old room and I was completely shocked (happily).  The room was large and was decorated with art, letters, numbers, and colors.  Each child has a cube where they store their belongings.  There was even bathroom in the classroom.

I met the teacher and had an opportunity to ask her what they typically learn and how they are prepared for kindergarten.  She told me there was a folder for each child—and I got really excited.  She showed me the folder that they keep so when parents ask how their child is doing, they can show them their progress.

I learned that they have a letter and number of the week and they not only visually learn the letter, but they learn how to write it as well.  I just kept telling the staff how different this daycare was—in a good way.

Monday was Zander’s first day at his new school, Children’s Discovery Center.  I’m sure I was more nervous and anxious than he was.  He was quiet and shy when we first arrived, but everyone made him feel welcome. Again, I was shocked when they handed me a sheet that detailed everything they would be doing for the week.

When I spoke to his teacher to find out how his first day was, they said he did great for it being his first day.  I’m sure the change will be great and he will adjust to the new schedule in now time and he’ll be fully prepared for kindergarten in the Fall.

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