Question about starting school...
Rena is starting school on Wed and she will be going Mon - Thurs from about 8:30 to 1:30. I'm not working on Fridays so I planned to have her home that day so we could spend time together. I figured later on if she really likes school, then I might drop her off for awhile on some Fridays so I can run errands, go to appts, etc. But for now I just wanted her there 4 days a week so she can get used to it. Well, we met with the director today to go over some last minute things and she feels that Rena should attend at least a couple hours each Friday until she is used to going to school. They think kids adapt better with more exposure to the school and they think the 3 day weekend will make it harder for her to come back on Mondays (making her transition longer). So now I'm not sure what to do. Should I let her go a couple hours on Fridays or just 4 days a week? I figure a lot of kids go to MDO either 2, 3, or 4 days a week (not all week long) and I'm sure most adjust just fine. Basically Rena will have a MDO schedule but go 4 days a week.
Any advice? TIA.
Re: Question about starting school...
That's exactly how I feel. I want her to still feel like she has a whole day with me to do fun things that we would normally do before. I changed her Little Gym class from Wed to Fri and if she goes to school then she can't go to the class. I might just tell them I only want her there 4 days a week right now. We're paying for 5 days anyways so there's always that option later on.
From our experience, the three-day weekends are especially challenging for DS and his classmates. Over the years there has been a lot of adjusting after a three-day weekend. Maybe there is some merit to the director's observation?
That said, do as you feel best. Routines are made.
We have been explaining the days of the week based on routine for awhile now - if you want Friday to be an off day, maybe introduce something routine? "Today is park day. Friday is for park." That way, M-Th can be for school?
E has never gone more than 3 days a week (M.W.F), but right now only goes on Monday and Wednesday and seems to do fine with it.
I'd keep her home and if she has trouble adjusting then you can revisit it later.
i just can't see kids rena's age (or truitt's age for that matter) having that much understanding of the concept of time. imo one day isn't going to be that much of a difference.
truitt went 5 days between thurs and tues, but it was no easier to drop him off on thurs when he had just been there on tuesday until he was generally just comfortable with school. does that make sense? that was a little hard to explain.
This. If she were there for a longer day, say 8 hours, then maybe I could see the weekend having more significance. But since she's only there for 5 hours I wouldn't anticipate a problem. Sarah's at school for 6 hours a day on M-W-F and hasn't ever had a problem with transitioning. Even when she was very young (under 2) and I had her in two different programs at 2 different schools for 3 days a week, it didn't seem to matter.
Could you tell the director you want to wait and see whether she has trouble with the weekend transitions before considering doing any school on Fridays?
good idea.
ha! this is true, too. there is no shame in having time to yourself when you can get it. no shame at all.
Thanks everyone! We met with Rena's teachers today and I basically told them what KKMex said. I don't plan to drop her off on Fridays right now but if she has trouble adjusting on Monday then I will try it out. They seemed fine with that.
Erika&Brian- I definitely plan to drop her off on some Fridays once she's used to school (however long that takes!). I would definitely like a couple hours to myself to run errands, relax, etc.
I was going to advise the take-her-in-the-morning on Friday point but see I'm a little late.
So... I now just want to say that RENA IS SO FREAKIN' BEAUTIFUL!
- Paula Deen to 104.1 KRBE's Producer Eric 9/17/2011
Aww, thank you! Madeline is so cute and looking so grown up!!