Teach them to wipe!

Last night I attended a 'Kindergarten Readiness' seminar at the preschool. I have no worries that Ted is not 'ready' for K. With 3 years of Preschool under his belt, a fascination with science and numbers, and a healthy appetite for books books books!, I know he is ready. But I wanted to get more information about the TYPE of school we are zoned for, and learn more about Horizons, the charter school I'm interested in for him. I didn't get much more info about the schools but I should be able to get a good feel by the end of December, with the Kingergarten sessions the school does for parents. At this point, I think we will open enroll him at Horizons. We probably won't get in and hopefully we will find Eldorado just fine anyway, but just in case. I did get a lot of extra info that was helpful though. Kingergarten (at Eldorado) is half day, every day. Morning session is 8:30-11 and 'afternoon' is 12-2:30. She suggested thinking about when your child works the best and requesting that session. I think Ted has way too much energy at the start of his day to ask him to focus, so I will request Afternoon (often a smaller class too). We plan to do K-care, which she said is really nice, very pre-school like, smaller, more mellow etc. Sounds really sweet and a nice way to get prepared for the day. She gave us some general things to work on this year and the funniest one was "bathroom readiness." I am one of the guilty parents who still 'does the dirty work' in that area, so I am to encourage his independence here...and do more laundry and have more baths at night! hee hee. Other things like helping him learn to zip his own zipper on his coat, snap his own snaps on his jeans, etc. will make him feel more independent and more ready for K. Fun!!!
Today at pick-up, one of his teachers, Caroline, said Ted had had a fantastic day. They were reading a story where a girl gets her feelings hurt and Ted said "That is not OK! That will hurt her feelings!" Nice that he was able to 'get that' before it actually was read in the story. Also, he got hurt on the playground and the other child apologized. They ask, "do you need anything else?" and Ted said "I need a hug and a kiss." From the other kid! Awww! Love it. Love the JCC. Love his teachers for their care and compassion. I am glad I have 2 more kids because the thought of leaving this supportive and loving environment for 'the system' is probably scarier for me than for Ted!