About two months ago Adam and I began discussing paying for Felix, who is now 2 and a half, to do a couple of sessions at nursery. It’s been a really tough year for so many people and for so many different reasons. I’ve had my fair share of parenting tough situations but parenting a toddler through a pandemic really has made me worry about my son. I hate the thought of him growing up in a world where all he’s been told is not to go near or play with other people’s children in the park, at the beach…I’ve been too scared to look into toddler groups because I just can’t bear the thought of wearing a mask inside a hot, stuffy, soft play centre where I can’t wear my glasses. The best option for Felix to make some friends, play and be in a safe environment was preschool.
He didn’t get off to a great start. Evie came home from school with a cold and that passed on to Felix who developed a nasty case of tonsilitis (that I am currently suffering with, thank you son). It meant his first booked sessions were a no-show because he just wasn’t well enough to attend. However, whilst his cough is lingering (no covid, thankfully!) he is much better and has now attended for two weeks. He only attends two afternoon sessions a week and as he’s under two and we don’t get full benefits we are paying for these sessions. It’s probably come at a cost of our rediculous food shopping and takeaway bill though and we could do with getting that back under control if I’m honest.
I wasn’t sure how he would react with preschool as we couldn’t do any proper settling in sessions. Instead, when we were signing the paperwork the staff very kindly took him through to show him the outside play area and he was happy enough with the other children and nursery staff. Since then he’s gone straight in with no problems and actually has been upset when he’s been told it’s time to come home. When it came to choosing the preschool we went with a friends recommendation after looking on a few websites and seeing the eyewatering costs for some settings. The place we choose was much more reasonable in terms of price and affordable for us thankfully. We liked the sound of it with the addition of a forest school setting when he’s in the bigger classes too which I think he will love.
We don’t really have any aims for preschool, nor do we have any concerns bar the fact that we want him to make friends and have a chance to play outside. I’ve talked about not having a garden so many times on this blog and it’s still frustrating and has been even more so in the last year being stuck inside. So now he’s enrolled and going in two afternoon sessions a week to play, make friends and get some much needed outside time. He’s had such a fun time the last few sessions, has run in with the staff and had a great time. When we get there he wants to rush straight in although there’s a whole thing with lines and waiting.
I’m really happy with our decision, one of the only things thats frustrating is there is no real handover or chance to discuss issues which I find hard as I don’t really know what he’s been doing. It’s very much a drop and go situation as parents aren’t allowed in and I appreciate they have to follow the rules but I’d like to know more about what he’s getting up to and if he’s making friends with the other children. It has, however, only been a few sessions so he’s got plenty of time to make friends and play. We also have all those super cute moments to look forward to with him bringing stuff home. He brought home his first painting the other day which was just adorable.
I think this change will be really good for him and I’m so proud that he’s taken it so well.
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