My son, our very only one, completed Georgia Pre-K last week. Since then it's been a kind of whirlwind to find childcare for him before his summer camp starts, but we've made it work. That's not to say that school is childcare, but it is also that for us working folk. The kids put on an adorable little end-of-year ceremony that was skillfully coordinated by their 2nd-year-of-experience teacher. Yes, I pointed that out because it bothered me. Much like I didn't want Micah to be some new respiratory therapist's trainer in the NICU, I also wanted him to have an educator with experience. Again, we made it work... and it really felt like work.
Micah hadn't been in any sort of structured care environment before this except for the summer of camp, which was a great preparation. The crowded confines of his Pre-K class proved challenging for the first 3-9 months of school. It's too crowded, kids are in his space, the noise is unbalanced, random, frantic, and loud, kids are in his space, things are new, people are new, sounds are new, people are in his space. The other kids seemed fine with these things, but Micah's preemie brain tends to get overstimulated very quickly, not something his under-experienced teacher appreciated or the very-experienced counselor was cable of comprehending. By the end of the first week, Micah officially hated (don't say hate) crayons, pencils, and markers. The pressure to "sit down and write your name" started on day 1. Yes. Really.
By day 120 or so, he got the hang of it and really started to jive with the routine, including writing his name, which he can do now.
To say we are proud of him would be accurate. It would be accurate and not nearly enough. Before he was born at 25 weeks, weighing 13.3 oz (half of what he should), the doctors said, "If he survives delivery he'll have about a 2-5% chance of making it through the night. It's doubtful he'll make it through a week." So, we said, "Deal. We'll take what we can get." Incredibly, he made it. He self-extubated at four weeks; contracted a total of one infection during our 4.5 month stay; learned to breathe without assistance for his due date; learned to walk 10 months after his due date; finally verbalized before he was 2; smiled, laughed, learned, and grew. He's done so much.
During his first year of school, he made friends; played creatively; sat for story time in a group; asked questions; answered questions; drew fantastical pictures; learned all of his letters and wrote his name.
In the ceremony, the kids sang and danced to prepared numbers and were delightfully charming. Each one came to a microphone and declared his name, age, and career goal. When it was his turn, ours said, "My name is Micah. I'm four years old. When I grow up, I'll be a policeman." It sounded like "peace man" when he said it, though. Then the teacher gave out superlatives. One kid was best dressed. Others were funniest, most helpful, best artist and so on.
Our kid was "Most Improved." I was disappointed at first since it doesn't speak to his personality like all of the other accolades. But, it's true. He's come quite a long way from sitting overwhelmed at a table with his ears covered. He worked really hard and learned so much academically and socially. He performed his role during the ceremony bravely and thoroughly.
So, I'll take "Most Improved" and I'll hope he's that kid every year.
Micah hadn't been in any sort of structured care environment before this except for the summer of camp, which was a great preparation. The crowded confines of his Pre-K class proved challenging for the first 3-9 months of school. It's too crowded, kids are in his space, the noise is unbalanced, random, frantic, and loud, kids are in his space, things are new, people are new, sounds are new, people are in his space. The other kids seemed fine with these things, but Micah's preemie brain tends to get overstimulated very quickly, not something his under-experienced teacher appreciated or the very-experienced counselor was cable of comprehending. By the end of the first week, Micah officially hated (don't say hate) crayons, pencils, and markers. The pressure to "sit down and write your name" started on day 1. Yes. Really.
By day 120 or so, he got the hang of it and really started to jive with the routine, including writing his name, which he can do now.
To say we are proud of him would be accurate. It would be accurate and not nearly enough. Before he was born at 25 weeks, weighing 13.3 oz (half of what he should), the doctors said, "If he survives delivery he'll have about a 2-5% chance of making it through the night. It's doubtful he'll make it through a week." So, we said, "Deal. We'll take what we can get." Incredibly, he made it. He self-extubated at four weeks; contracted a total of one infection during our 4.5 month stay; learned to breathe without assistance for his due date; learned to walk 10 months after his due date; finally verbalized before he was 2; smiled, laughed, learned, and grew. He's done so much.
During his first year of school, he made friends; played creatively; sat for story time in a group; asked questions; answered questions; drew fantastical pictures; learned all of his letters and wrote his name.
In the ceremony, the kids sang and danced to prepared numbers and were delightfully charming. Each one came to a microphone and declared his name, age, and career goal. When it was his turn, ours said, "My name is Micah. I'm four years old. When I grow up, I'll be a policeman." It sounded like "peace man" when he said it, though. Then the teacher gave out superlatives. One kid was best dressed. Others were funniest, most helpful, best artist and so on.
Our kid was "Most Improved." I was disappointed at first since it doesn't speak to his personality like all of the other accolades. But, it's true. He's come quite a long way from sitting overwhelmed at a table with his ears covered. He worked really hard and learned so much academically and socially. He performed his role during the ceremony bravely and thoroughly.
So, I'll take "Most Improved" and I'll hope he's that kid every year.
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