Preschool!

We decided it was time to enroll Isabelle in preschool, and found a great center called The Academy at Bright Horizons. While it's definitely more structured and "academic" than her previous daycare facility, it's still fun with a lot of play-based activities. It really functions like a combination childcare and preschool program, as they accept kids as young as two who aren't nearly ready for traditional preschool learning.

Anyway, her first day was September 4, and so far she loves it! It's a little more work for us because we now have two separate drop-offs in the morning and pick-ups in the afternoon. And she needs to bring her own snacks and lunch daily, so we have more prep work in the evening. But based on her reactions and experiences so far, it's worth the effort!

Her class has 10 kids, all of whom are 3 going on 4 - she's part of a group of "late birthday" kids who will miss the kindergarten cut-off next year, meaning she will not start kindergarten until she's 5, going on 6. So if we keep her at The Academy, these next two years will involve preschool and pre-K work.

Her daily schedule includes circle time; morning snack and P.E.; art studio; "Handwriting Without Tears" and Language Works (they're focusing on a different letter every week, how it sounds and how to write it, in addition to starting to recognize basic sight words); lunch followed by nap or quiet activities; afternoon snack and outside play; as well as some alternating basic science and math lessons. Her science lessons so far have consisted of learning about different parts of the body like bones and muscles, sorting rocks by size, weight and color, and learning about measurements by making pancakes. And her math lessons have focused on recognizing numbers, counting forwards and backwards up to 10, etc. The school is also finishing construction on a culinary studio, and she'll get a chance to do cooking activities with her class once or twice a week.

This past week Isabelle came home with a completed art project that she has been thrilled to show off. Their art teacher spent the first week-and-a-half teaching them about drawing people, so they created self-portaits using pastels while looking in a mirror, and she also painted a picture of me. The lessons culminated with the kids copying and making their own versions of the Mona Lisa. This is Isabelle's rendition:

So far her teacher says she has been adjusting well - no issues, she is very well behaved and is gradually becoming more talkative and less shy. In fact, her teacher told Jason that every morning Isabelle takes it upon herself to ensure Ms. Jessica has her clipboard in place for checking all of the kids in.

We're proud of her!