Fluffhead!

[PrincessFiona]

David,

How did your first week of teaching go???? Would you be interested in having a student website for the year? I have a biology student server with one database left over.....we could throw together a website for your class!


kris

[fluffhead]

I barely have time to prepare my lesson plans, never mind set up a website.
The students are pretty cool, I try to run the classes more like college classes (which probably doesn't sit too well with the administration, which seems to be more in a grade-school-police-state mode).
Daycare has been unbelievable stressful for me, and for the baby as well I believe. She cries when I leave, for a short time, and then sits there stone-faced for the rest of the time. It's so very very sad. It's only been a few days, and everybody says "don't worry, she'll adjust, she'll love it", but I hope I don't crack first. The director said to me that perhaps I need a bottle of milk and a nap, and I said "more like a bottle of scotch."

[PrincessFiona]

It does sound stressful! If you change your mind about a website, I'm happy to help.

I remember when I went back and finished my MS. I had to do a semester of daycare at the very end and I felt incredibly guilty. I remember being a basket case on the way to take him...feeling guilty all day...and then being a basket case on the way to pick him up. At first, Alex responded in a very similar manner. The guilt was just unbelievable. I considered dropping out of school, etc. Within about 3 weeks though, he had done a complete turn-around. Once he had gotten comfortable with his 'teacher' and the other kids in the group, he had a blast. He began running in on his own without even looking back at me and he didn't want to come home when I picked him up because he was having so much fun playing alongside of the other children. It just took him time to adjust and realize that this was fun and that I was coming back every afternoon to get him.


Really, she will end up having a great time and then you'll feel bad because she is doing so well without you

Kris

David,

I agree with what Kris said. She will adjust in time. My son was three when he went to a Montessori preschool while I finished my degree. He loved it. He is an only child and he loved playing with other kids.

Another option that worked well for us was that we advertised in a local nursing school for babysitters. My son was a year and a half at the time.
We employed two nursing students. The students liked the flexibility of work hours and my son was happy and relaxed staying in the familiar environment of our home. It was a little more hectic with the scheduling, but it worked out great in the end.

Rich

[fluffhead]

Thanks for the reassurances...
Her first 2 days at preschool, my daughter brought home a slight cold. As is her habit, she magnified it 1000-fold, and gave it to me.
So I've been a miserable puppy the past couple days, heavily medicating myself and going to teach my classes, then coming home and collapsing, trying to convince the baby to rest with me rather than dumping all her wipes on the floor.
Back on my feet now, almost better.
One of the unforeseen bonuses of daycare, I guess?

[PrincessFiona]

So I've been a miserable puppy the past couple days, heavily medicating myself and going to teach my classes, then coming home and collapsing, trying to convince the baby to rest with me rather than dumping all her wipes on the floor.
Back on my feet now, almost better.
One of the unforeseen bonuses of daycare, I guess?

Here's to a quick, painless recovery!!!! I hope you're feeling better soon....the bright side of this is 'supposed' to be that they don't get sick as often when they go to school. This has held up for my youngest, btw. My two older chidren were sick very frequently in preschool/kindergarten and my youngest rarely gets anything!

kris

[SueC]

Hi Fluffhead,
I wanted to add that my daughter had a similar experience when starting mother's day out and I felt incredibly guilty, but within a few weeks, she started loving it. She was about 22 months at the time she started. At first they would have to peel her off me crying, then we progressed to me sitting her down on the floor and walking away, during which she would clutch her blanket and stare straight ahead. I peeked in a few minutes later and the poor little thing was in the same position I left her in. Like I said within a few weeks she would give me a kiss and hug and head for the toys. On Tuesday I ran upstairs to get something before we left to go to mother's day out and I came back down to find her standing by the door holding her lunch, her blanket, and my keys! Its a hard adjustment, especially for a child who hasn't had any daycare experience (mine hadn't either!). One thing that I did do that helped (and has especially helped with my 3 year old) is to try to get to her classroom a little earlier so that they didn't have to walk into a room of rambunctious kids. I think that can be very intimidating. My mom compares it to an adult that walks into a party and doesn't see anyone they know. It is much less stressful to walk into a room where there are only a few kids.
At any rate, good luck--I'm sure it will get better!

[SueC]

Oh yeah--I hope you feel better soon, too!

Fluffhead,
I hope you feel better soon! Funny thing how the toddler cold morphs into such a nasty beast for the parent -- I totally understand.
And I'm glad to hear that my daughter isn't the only one who *loves* to play with wipes!!

Like everyone else, we had a tough transition into the preschool/daycare scene. I started Bryn in preschool 2 days a week from 9-12:30 when she was 15 months old. She would cry, cry, cry when I would leave and I felt so guilty because I was mostly doing it for time to myself because I hadn't started my consulting business yet. I nearly called it quits a week or two into it. It took a few weeks for her to adjust and fortunately the teacher was very, very patient and understanding. She held Bryn as often as she could, helped introduce her to the other children, and helped her start playing with the toys (Bryn was one of the youger kids in the class and the others had been there before).
Overall, it has been a very rewarding experience for all of us and I'm glad we persevered. Bryn has made great friends with some of the children there and we have developed lasting friendships with the parents of some of her classmates. The experience has given me some peace of mind about moving out of state -- that she will make new friends and that fellow parents will welcome us into their social lives.
Now I just have to find a preschool as great as this one when we move!

[Phoebe]

Now after reading this I am discouraged. Avery starts her Parent's Time Out tomorrow. Their policy is to leave them at the door and parents don't go in the room. The teacher said it helps all the kids adjust a little better and in a few weeks they will understand the procedure. I didn't find this out until I went to orientation and I am uncomfortable with the idea of not being able to comfort her if necessary. She has never been left with anyone before and sometimes is a little shy. It seems a little cold.

Many of the kids in the program are repeaters so the parents must like the program if they send their subsequent children for the experience. We can't go in the classroom, but we can call as often as we like to check up on the kids. I will probably have a harder time than Avery dealing with this transition.

Jennifer

[SueC]

Jennifer,
Try not to get too discouraged! It may be a little rough at drop-off time for the first few times but she will eventually probably love going. At our school they try to keep drop-off time to a minimum, which I think definitely decreases the drama of the departure. We have a routine where I ask them each for a great big hug and kiss and then I go. They expect that after this I am going to leave and I do. If I kept coming back to comfort them, it would just draw the whole thing out. Also, if several parents are in the room comforting crying children, they tend to feed off each other and you have kids that might not otherwise cry starting to cry as well. Its much easier on the teachers if you give a quick goodbye and go. Good luck tomorrow! I hope it goes well!

[fluffhead]

It's really true that a quick exit makes the separation much easier over the long run. Though it rips your heart out.
Here's an unforeseen side effect of daycare: I used to know everything she said, because we'd taught her everything she knew. Now I hear her saying things that I don't recognize, and I think "now where did she her that?"
So as long as they're not expletives, I guess it's a Good Thing.
Today the teacher informed me that she actually smiled a few times.
So perhaps things are looking up!

[Phoebe]

Our exit wasn't as bad as I thought. I was worried because I kept explaining to her what her day entailed and that she would be playing with toys and kids etc and I was going "bye-bye". She kept saying NO! to that. Once we got there she was excited to see all the kids going into the church and actually walked into the room without a problem. Ron called about an hour into it to check up on her and got a report that 15 minutes into the day all kids were crying but Avery. She didn't want to leave when we picked her up. So much for my fear!

Jennifer

Good, Jennifer, I'm glad it went so well. And you had tears at the opposite time you expected!

Yesterday, Bryn was crying when we left school because she wasn't done playing with her friends. Funny how things change!

[SueC]

I'm glad it went so well Jennifer!
Nellie, I've had a similar exerience when picking up Maya. She asked me to come back in a long, long time after it was dark because she wasn't ready to go home yet!