Today was a HUGE day in the Gharib house, one I am still trying to wrap my head around. It was the first day of preschool for Suhana! Yup, my baby or shall I say preschooler, is all grown up. She is going to Joy Preschool, near our home. When I was still pregnant with Jiana, I knew I wanted Suhana to have more interaction with other kids and other people. I worked full time and so mommy-and-me groups and play dates were scarce. So her interaction with kids was limited to the parks or places we visited. But, I also believe its important for a child to have good social skills not just with the people she knows and is comfortable with, but also regular people. And for us (I consider ourselves very lucky) Suhana hasn't had to go to daycare since she is born, since her grandparents have watched her while Avikar and I worked. That's been a huge blessing for us and she is so well taken care of!
But like I said, her interaction with others has been limited. So I wanted that type of exposure for her and thought once she turned two (now she is almost two and a half years old) she should play with other kids, learn how to sit in a circle and listen to a story, and do little guided projects. So my search began. I wanted a school close by, since I only wanted her to go half days and her grandparents needed to be able to pick her up. Also, I wanted one with some academic aspect to it (we are talking pretty basic academics, not Tiger mom style). Suhana has already learned so much from all of us, for example she knows her alphabets, she can recognize letters (spell her name), she knows how to count up to 40 (not kidding), shapes, colors, and animals. She says full sentences and understands everything. So, I wasn't trying to make my kid grow up faster than she needs to, but just give her a different type of exposure.
As I mentioned before I saw many schools in the area and had the best feeling from this one. Its more intimate, the teachers are nice, and her class is pretty small with only 7 students including herself. I really like that since I did not want her to feel like the teacher was too busy to listen to her or her needs wouldn't be met. The academic part of the program is in the morning and the kids get plenty of playtime outside and she gets to eat lunch with other kids sitting around a table.
So she is going 3 half days a week. Day 1: I stayed with her the whole time and she really liked the whole day. She likes her teacher Miss Claudia a lot and I can tell feels comfortable with her. As the day progressed she felt safer moving away from me as she became familiar. Day 2: I decided to leave her for a couple hours today and tell her that I was going to come back and pick her up after lunch. I explained all this to her, but she did end up crying here and there, but Miss Claudia was really good about distracting her and keeping her busy with the next activity. She kept asking for mommy and wanted to go see my car outside. I admit, I cried as I left and felt so sad. Like I was leaving a piece of myself behind and I know the transition is going to be hard, really hard. Probably for both of us, but I know she is going to like this place and have a lot of fun. At one point she held onto Miss Claudia's ears (this is Suhana's self comforting act, where she will grab onto ears and just pull them or hold them really tight) and she exclaimed "Ouch, gentle Suhana!" So Suhana pulls away and says "Sorry Miss Claudia" and that melted her teachers heart and she pulled her in for a hug. Outside playtime and lunch was cry-free. The best part of my day was when I walked in and she saw me she exclaimed loudly "Miss Claudia, I told you Mommy was coming!!!!" She was so happy to see me and kept saying it over and over. I also reassured her that I promised I would return and I did.
Going through this emotional moments as a parent will never end, but it makes the bond with our children stronger. I understand this is the beginning of many goodbyes I will tell her over her life...when she goes to 1st grade, high school, prom (if daddy lets her!), college and when she gets married (again if daddy lets her), but I don't think they ever get easier. My mom still gets sad every time I go to visit but them leave her to come back to my house. Her house feels empty and sad without me. Oh being mommy is filled with highs and lows. I am going to take this as a high...because in the end, Suhana is going to love it and that is what matters the most.
Here are a few pictures from her first day. :)
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| Before school started..just playing. |
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| Her classmates sitting around the table and waiting for their project. |
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