Dayla has been at school now for 2 months and it so fun to see how much she has grown and changed in such a short time. The transition to school was not easy (to put it nicely) as our girl thought it was “boring” and “not as much fun as she hoped”. Daniel and I knew that we just had to push through; we knew that once she liked it, she would love it. For 3 weeks we kicked and screamed to the car. The fourth week she came home with the announcement “I have a new best friend!!” and it has been wonderful ever since.
[Dayla and her “new best friend” Katelynn stand in the back of the group together next to the teacher]
Everything about North City Preschool we have LOVED so far. One rule they have (that I think is brilliant) is no parents in the classroom for the first 2 months so that the teacher can be established as the main authority. So this last week was the first time that parents got to come and stay; we came for the Halloween Animal Parade. Is there anything cuter than a bunch of preschoolers dressed up in costume, marching in a parade?
The parents all lined up on the fence, cameras in hand, proud smiles on their faces. Many of the kids were shy and just walked following the person in front of them, but not Dayla. She was a bee, so she flew and ran most the way with a smile on her face.
They did the parade for two days (so all the kids could participate) and on the second day Daniel was able to come. I can’t begin to explain how excited our girl was to have us both at her school. Each time she walked by us, she looked something like this:
It was so fun to see her in her element for the first time. She was confident and energetic, but also a great listener, a great helper, and a great student (the only one in her class who knew what “utters” were called when Miss Karen asked).
[Miss Karen is on the right in the cow costume]
We so love North City Preschool and the director (Miss Karen) and Dayla’s teacher (Miss Cullison) who are both amazing with Dayla and her dynamic personality.
Each morning we go we are often the first one to the classroom door, and Miss Cullison always matches Dayla’s enthusiasm for whatever it is that Dayla has to tell her that morning. I love this picture below because it captures perfectly how Miss Cullison greets Dayla each morning:
Dayla goes to school Wednesday- Friday so she has the chance to be with two different sets of kids. She is beginning to make more and more “best friends” and, like we hoped and predicted, seems to be more in love and more passionate about school everyday.
[Top class picture is her Thursday class and bottom picture is her Wednesday and Friday class]
What more could we ask for than an amazing preschool with the world’s best staff to transition our girl to the idea of school and grow her love for learning? We are SO thankful!