Baylor's 1st Day Of (Pre)Preschool

Baylor Scott Brady August 31st, 2011. 32 months & 3 weeks old.


My big boy started his new school today:

He will be going on Wednesday's and Thursday's from 8:30A.M.to 3P.M. I was so excited for him to start because I knew the structured environment and social interaction with the other kids would help Baylor progress with his learning and speech. I knew when I went to tour the education center, that this was the place Baylor needed to be. It's not daycare but he's not in actual preschool yet. They do follow a curriculum and he will be learning alot of the same things the preschool children are learning. Every month, they focus on certain letters, colors and numbers and incorporate it into their daily activities in the classroom.

One of the great things about this school is that it's only minutes from my work.

They also have carpool in the morning which makes it much easier to drop him off. His teacher actually gets him out of the car and walks him to the classroom where the student teacher is waiting.



They get play time out on the playground 3x's a day. There is a slide, jungle gym and Baylor's favorite, a HUGE tree house:



So we had our first drop off this morning. I was a little nervous and didn't know what to expect out of Baylor. When they came to get him out of the car, he didn't even blink an eye. He took one of the teacher's hands and never looked back. Mommy was more of a wreck than he was!


The teacher's do a great job of keeping them busy and learning all day. This is what a typical day is like:

• 8:30 Carpool Drop-off
• 8:50-9:10 Playground time
• 9:15-9:25 Room play and handwashing time
  
• 9:25-9:40 Morning snack time
• 9:40-10:00 Bathroom and Diaper changes
• 10-10:30 Centers/Art/Circle/Storytime
• 10:30-11:00 Skating (Wed) Music time (Thurs)
• 11:00-11:25 Playground time
• 11:25-11:35 Handwashing
• 11:35-12:00 Lunch
• 12:00-12:10 Bathroom and Diaper changes
• 12:10-2:00 Naptime
• 2:00-2:10 Bathroom & Handwashing
• 2:10-2:30 Afternoon snack time
• 2:30-3:00 Playground time
  

Baylor will learn a lot of discipline (I hope) in this new structured environment. I feel him watching the other kids will make him want to participate and copy what they do. At naptime, they all lay on their assigned mats with a blankie they bring from home. They sleep on their same mat, in the same spot, next to the same friend, everyday. I will pick Baylor up in the afternoons off of the playground where his teacher will be with him and his class friends. I am really looking forward to January when I can go and watch him skate on Wednesdays if I like. They have themed days too during the year, one of them being "Western Day". I am really looking forward to dressing Baylor up for this. They have a Fall Festival for Halloween, a Christmas Party, a Valentines Day Party and a Mardi Gras parade during the school year. The best part is that even if Baylor doesn't regularly attend on those days, we can still go and participate. In the spring, they will have their annual art show where we can go see all of Baylor's art work from the year that they even mat for us and he will bring home at the end of the year.

Ms. Giselle had lists for the parent's to sign up for special events and snack days. Of course I jumped on this. I love doing that kind of stuff and I've always wanted to be that kind of Mom; very involved in my child's education and just his life in general. I want to help with festivals, go on field trips and even be a "Room Mom"... so that's what I did! I signed up to be a room Mom with another Mommy in the class-Kristin. I'm so excited. I guess Baylor's going to school is a great opportunity for me to make new friends too, like Kristin.

This is a picture of the board in Baylor's classroom. This is the focus during circle time. They start at the bottom and talk about the weather. Then they move up to the letter for the day, the color and the day of the week. During this whole time, she is interacting with them and the kids are answering questions. They also have a new nursery rhyme and song each week they say together.
(You can see Baylor's teacher Ms. Giselle on the far left)


I went to pick up Baylor from his first day of school. Due to the marsh fire in New Orleans sending smoke up to Baton Rouge, the kids had to play in the gym during the afternoon session. I found Baylor running, jumping and playing with new friends.


I spoke to Ms. Giselle and she said Baylor had a wonderful day. He ate his lunch with no assistance, didn't get up during nap time, slept the entire time (and even had to be woken up), played well with the other children and was not disruptive during circle time. He even showed me the sun he painted on his first day.

I am so happy he had such a great 1st day and I am really looking forward to the rest of the year at Broadmoor Presbyterian!