A Big Step

Our 4yo made perhaps the biggest step in his young life yesterday - he started school!  It's not a traditional preschool but sort of a 6-week kindergarten readiness course.  It's a small group of kids ages 4yo to 5yo who meet one day a week, working with teachers to help them further develop the social skills necessary for starting kindergarten.  Unlike the other kids in the group, this is Clayton's first exposure to a classroom setting.  He's been at home with me, my Mom or my husband since birth.  Scary step for him and for us!  Given Clay's tendency to be anxious in new situations, I wasn't sure how the first day would go.  So all week I've been sending prayer and praise ahead of us.

The teachers were fantastic and worked hard to make Clay feel comfortable from the minute he arrived.  To our delight, Clay did very well!  He participated in circle time, played with the other kids and talked with the teachers.  While the kids were participating in school activities, we parents got to observe the class from another room.  We were able to observe the positive discipline techniques the teachers used in the classroom.  Techniques we can then use at home.  One thing I took away from yesterday's classroom observation, was how the teachers approached misbehavior.  They did not go with the assumption the child was simply being bad.  But rather it was a matter of missing skills.  An opportunity to teach rather than offer harsh correction. 

I think this is going to be a wonderful learning experience not only for Clayton but for us as well.