Today was Luke's last day of preschool for this year, so the kids put on a performance for the parents. It was so nice to see the kids singing and dancing and twirling and being their crazy, adorable selves. Luke, being Luke, didn't exactly dance...he marched across the stage, carefully placing his feet on the marks, and turned slowly in a circle instead of doing a wild twirl. It was so funny to see how even though the moves were choreographed, their individual personalities still shone through, bright and clear.
I haven't been privy to as much of the "insider" stuff at school as I would have liked to because (a) we started in the middle of the school year, so we missed all the orientation type stuff at the beginning, and (b) I haven't been able to volunteer in the classroom because I haven't had anywhere to leave Weston. But something about this place has appealed to me from the first time I saw their website--it just exudes such a sense of joy and charm and respect for children as people instead of empty vessels waiting to be filled. We weren't even planning to put Luke in preschool this past year, but decided to do it because of how much we loved this place.
What I have seen is how kindly they greet the children in the mornings, how the "greeting teachers" always make an attempt to talk to and connect with every child and parent as they walk through the door. I witnessed how one morning, a little girl's dad left while she was distracted with something else and she was upset when she realized it--and instead of brushing it off and moving her on to the next thing, the preschool director sat with her and empathized and problem-solved and in the end, it was as simple as making a quick phone call to Dad so she could say, "Good-bye, I love you!" It gives me peace of mind to know that if Luke were upset, they'd take similar care in figuring out how to help him solve the problem.
Today, during the performance, one of the children was feeling shy and instead of forcing her out to the stage by herself or leaving her out of the show entirely, a teacher carried her out to stage and held her close and danced with her as she buried her face in her teacher's shoulder. And a minute later, she looked up...and another minute later, she asked to get down and hold the teacher's hand while dancing...and another minute later, she let go of the teacher's hand and danced on her own. No tears, no fuss.
I am so grateful that Luke's introduction to school has been here, where they spend their mornings dancing and making music and doing drama and art. It has been the perfect environment for my rather serious little one.
I haven't been privy to as much of the "insider" stuff at school as I would have liked to because (a) we started in the middle of the school year, so we missed all the orientation type stuff at the beginning, and (b) I haven't been able to volunteer in the classroom because I haven't had anywhere to leave Weston. But something about this place has appealed to me from the first time I saw their website--it just exudes such a sense of joy and charm and respect for children as people instead of empty vessels waiting to be filled. We weren't even planning to put Luke in preschool this past year, but decided to do it because of how much we loved this place.
What I have seen is how kindly they greet the children in the mornings, how the "greeting teachers" always make an attempt to talk to and connect with every child and parent as they walk through the door. I witnessed how one morning, a little girl's dad left while she was distracted with something else and she was upset when she realized it--and instead of brushing it off and moving her on to the next thing, the preschool director sat with her and empathized and problem-solved and in the end, it was as simple as making a quick phone call to Dad so she could say, "Good-bye, I love you!" It gives me peace of mind to know that if Luke were upset, they'd take similar care in figuring out how to help him solve the problem.
Today, during the performance, one of the children was feeling shy and instead of forcing her out to the stage by herself or leaving her out of the show entirely, a teacher carried her out to stage and held her close and danced with her as she buried her face in her teacher's shoulder. And a minute later, she looked up...and another minute later, she asked to get down and hold the teacher's hand while dancing...and another minute later, she let go of the teacher's hand and danced on her own. No tears, no fuss.
I am so grateful that Luke's introduction to school has been here, where they spend their mornings dancing and making music and doing drama and art. It has been the perfect environment for my rather serious little one.
2 comments:
Ohh how fun!! I love the preschoolers. I've worked at one occasionally over here recently.
Wow! It sounds like you found the perfect place. A place that doesn't exist in other places. I am happy that Luke and the family was able to have this experience. You may want to write a note to the director/staff to let them know your thoughts/reactions. Thanks for sharing a little bit of your world with us.
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