I'm a believer!

There seems to be quite heated opinions of whether or not kids need to attend preschool. I wouldn't say I was ever firmly on one side of the other. I went to preschool, but Mike didn't. I wouldn't say the presence of absence of it truly made us who we are. At the same time, when it was time to consider it for Paige, we both felt like it would be good for her. We weren't searching for the best academic program. To be honest, I wasn't even truly concerned what she learned academically. I felt like she needed the social training. We wanted her to learn how to behave in a classroom, to learn how to interact with her peers, to get a base understanding of how to be a good friend. Based on her teacher reports and what I have been able to witness personally, those objectives have been met and the outcomes have gone beyond what our hopes were for Paige.

I didn't really expect her to have tremendous academic gains. But, as you'll see in the following pictures...she is truly learning!

After a slight altercation between Paige and Nathan while doing chalk in the driveway, I chose to distract Nathan by giving him his own area. After turning back to talk to Paige about what happened, this is what I saw...

WHAT??? I have been watching Paige practice her letters for months, so that wasn't surprising. But this clearly says, "NO NO!" I immediately asked her what she was writing...thinking it was a total coincidence. She said, "I'm telling Nathan, NO NO because he should not scribble on my art work." WOW! Not only did she have a good point, but how could I punish her for writing her first word?

That same night, we were at the ocean. I saw her kneeling down in the sand, but thought nothing of it. After a few minutes she called for me to come see what she had done. They are a little tough to interpret, but you'll figure it out. They appeared in an arch, one directly after the other...

"Paige"

"NatHaN"
"DaDDY"
"MommY"

I was amazed! I guess mostly because we just haven't made a big deal about the academic piece. We practice when she wants to and we find whatever teachable moments we can, but we let her take the lead! She loves it! The pride on her face when she realizes she accomplished something is priceless. I know this is something all parents experience and that we are not alone in our amazement of her quickly expanding knowledge. I don't share this because I think she exceeds others in any way or is advanced in any way. I'm sure there are many almost-5-year-olds who are far beyond where she is academically. I just love seeing her succeed and being excited about it.

So, although still not interested in debating the topic, I am 100% sold on the importance of preschool. She is not just learning the fundamental rules of friendship and classroom etiquette, but she is establishing a true joy for learning and all of those combined, my friends...is worth every penny of the past 10 months!