Progress. With a capital P. Progress.

To preschool or not to preschool? It's a legitimate question many parents struggle with. Preschool is something that isn't right for some. And for others it's something that is an absolute necessity.

When it came to our firstborn, we struggled with the decision. Eventually, we opted to preschool. We had just moved and we thought it would be beneficial in helping her develop friendships. After all, making friends in a new town is tough even for adults. She already knew her letters and how to write them (upper and lower case). She knew her shapes and how to draw them. She knew how to color in the lines and how to cut and paste. Academically, she was ready for Kindergarten at 4. But she was also still attached to her mother's hip.
Actually, she still is.
I keep telling myself that one day she'll want to leave me and get married and I'll long for the school mornings where she clings to my leg, sobbing because she'll miss me so much.
I keep telling myself that.

And now we have this one.


There really wasn't much of a dilemma with this one. Can someone please point me in the direction of the nearest preschool?

Honestly, I love my boy. Really I do. He brings me much delight. But I have never once doubted that if there was a story to be written about kids who need preschool, he would be Exhibit #1.

And in all fairness, I did try to do some preschool with him at home. Remember those 4 months I was a homeschooling mom? I tried to work with him, too. But if you mentioned the word "learn" or if he even got a whiff of the possibility that an activity had anything to do with learning, he was absolutely-with-out-a-doubt Done. With a capital D. Done. And then he would loudly proclaim "I don't want to learn!!!"

We did manage to learn colors. John Deere is green. Case is red. New Holland is blue. Cat machines are yellow. That didn't leave me much to work with.
Recognizing capital letters? Yes.
Ability to read "John Deere?" Yes.
Lower case letters? Nope.
Shapes? Tires are circles. Semi trailers are rectangles.
Coloring in the lines? Not interested.


What I needed was a Montessori style of school that taught using only farm and construction equipment and terminology. Why do they not have FFA for 4 year olds?

I finally had to settle for a normal preschool. He started a few weeks ago and Loves it. With a capital L. Loves. He doesn't mind learning with someone else. Imagine that. And the best part? He didn't cling to my leg and cry when I dropped him off. He went right into his class without batting an eye and barely said goodbye.

So last week his teacher shared with me that they were having a little trouble with getting him to write his name correctly. Uh oh. I flashed back to the time when he was adamant that his name did not start with the letter Z. It wasn't pretty then. I was hoping things had improved.

Thankfully, this issue was different. The teacher explained to me that the problem is, he likes to write his name in all capital letters. I didn't really see the problem, considering that just a few months ago he didn't want to write his name at all. They should be thankful, right?

Miss Cindy explained that they are working with him to use lowercase letters instead. She said that she told him each student is allowed only one capital letter in their name. Then she told me he paused for a moment, looked at her thoughtfully and declared,

"Okay. I want it to be the E."

Smart kid. Those lowercase e's are pretty tricky.
That's my boy. zanE. With a capital E. zanE.