School starts in a week for my kids (well, truth be told, we are going to miss the first day of school by squeezing in one last vacation!) Last year my kids went to preschool for the first time, and they really blossomed.
They attend the "Mountain School" in the woods and it is not for the faint of heart. First of all, the parents are the students, and the kids come to play. Meaning - it's back to school time for the kids ME now! One of the reasons I chose this school was the chance to do written observations on my kids (10 per kid per semester.) When does a twin parent have the time to sit back, watch their kids, and take meticulous notes about their children's interactions with others, how they maintain their space, how they enter new territory, etc. WE DON'T! Heck, if everyone makes it through the day without a visit to the ER (which we have had 3 so far in our twins' 3 years!) then I call it a good day. So I chose this school to have an opportunity to maintain a written record of how my kids are changing and adapting.
The other reason the school is not for the faint of heart is because it is MOUNTAIN SCHOOL! Bugs, rain, creek-walking, mud, poison oak, peeing outside (my daughter is a professional outdoor pee-er!) Don't get me wrong, I love the outdoors. But when we were on a stroll in the rain one day last year and my daughter came up to me with two really looong worms crawling into the sleeves of her rain jacket, I had to really hold in my squirmy side and not freak out. She is now the protector of all little bugs and makes sure that we cause no bug any harm.
Last year we went to school just one morning a week. Since it is a CO-OP, I attended with the kids (no down time.) This year, I have signed the kids myself up for three days a week. I will have to attend two days and on the third day the kids will actually get into another parent's car and that parent will take them to school for that session (down time = woo-hoo!) The two days that I will be going to school, I will be responsible for a third child (two kids, three kids - does it really make a difference? I am about to find out!)
So, I'm getting nervous about school starting. Did I sign us up for too much? Three days a week is a big time commitment, but when I think about the LOOONG days at home when I feel like I will go raving mad, then three days at school sounds pretty good (especially on that third day when the kids will go with the other mom!) Luckily a mom from last year and I have agreed to carpool, so the kids will be going with someone that I know and am comfortable with, and her son gets along with my two kids.I'm also nervous because kindergarten isn't too far away and I feel like I should savor all the time that I can with my little munchkins. So, we'll be sticking with the CO-OP Mountain School, worms and all, and enjoy the time to take written observations of what they are doing.
Original post to Mad About Multiples by Pam C.
