Pre-K, Week 3

This morning, Todd signed Micah up for soccer.  It's a program called SoccerShots and it's held Wednesday afternoons in the gym at his daycare for the next 14 weeks.  He's been asking to play for a while now. Several of his daycare friends are enrolled, and his cousin Daniel, who is in first grade this year, plays with a local group.  Daniel is actually really talented at soccer, and I think Micah's been paying attention whenever we're talking about how Daniel's games or practices are going.

I would have preferred karate, since that doesn't lead to a life without Saturdays, but we'll see what happens.  Today's the first day (yeah, nothing like waiting until the very last minute), and Micah seemed excited when I dropped him off this morning.

This is our third week of Pre-K.  I wish I could say that I have some sense of how things are going but I really don't.  Micah's already writing more clearly.  He's gotten better at recognizing words.  He's been drawing a lot more.  But he's also been more defiant at home and less happy about going to school.  He occasionally asks to go back to his old class. He told me the other day he sat in the window and watched his old friends playing outside without him. 

I can't really get a sense of his teacher or of what the class is doing.  She seems nice, but the only time I see her is in the morning, when things are completely crazy in the classroom.  She leaves at 3:30 and another teacher takes over, one who never has any information on how Micah's doing, what his day was like, or if there were any problems.  I ask Micah what he did, but I rarely get much more than, "I built a big tower."  Three-year-olds, man.

Right now I'm just waiting.  It's only been three weeks and it's been a huge change for him (and for me).  I hope I'll get to know his teacher and his classmates a little better, or at least get a feel for how the class is structured.  I'm trying to accept the transition from Preschool to a class with more organization and less feedback.  Next week they're supposed to start sending home "classroom connection" folders that cover what the kids are doing and include activities for us to do at home.  I'm hoping that will help me, because right now I feel like I'm dropping my kid off at a black box.  I have no idea what goes on inside or how it works.