Out of the bubble

Bryan started preschool today! It took a few months longer than expected, but I was finally able to meet with his newly-hired lead teacher last week. We had a long discussion, I was able to explain to her my concerns, and I think that she really seemed to get it. She asked a lot of questions as well, which was very reassuring to me. I think- HOPE- that this will work out, because I really do want to like this school!

(In case you were wondering how Bryan handled it, he was great. When we got to his classroom, he took off his coat and backpack, handed them to me, and said, "It's okay Mommy, you can go now." And so it begins...)

One quick word of advice for any parent whose child needs an Epi-Pen: SAVE THE ORIGINAL PACKAGING. The school will probably need it, as well as the prescription and dosage information, in order to legally administer it.

Still no preschool

It has been 4 months since we enrolled Bryan in preschool, and he still hasn't started yet. It has been a little frustrating, actually, but it's mostly my decision. As I mentioned in a previous post, I had planned to meet with the teacher in advance, so that I could make sure that we were both on the same page concerning his food allergies. Well, his classroom does not have a lead teacher yet. They do have an assistant teacher who is with them every day, but not an official lead teacher. Back in September, I had planned to wait until the lead teacher was hired since we weren't really in a hurry to start. While I could meet with the assistant ahead of time, I really wanted to make sure that I met with everyone before they were in a classroom with Bryan. I thought it would just be easier to wait, rather than try to squeeze in another meeting between when the lead started and when Bryan was in with her. Anyway, that was back in September. I'm starting to wonder if I should just go ahead and meet with the assistant. On the one hand, I'm sure she is perfectly capable of managing the classroom, and she would be in with Bryan once the lead teacher started anyway. On the other hand, I REALLY wanted to meet with the lead teacher first, mostly for my own reassurance that this is the right place for Bryan. Meeting with the lead teacher before Bryan started in her classroom was one of the things that I had not planned to compromise regarding his safety. So is it really worth the compromise now?

I did call a few other preschools to get a feel for what else is out there, just in case this one does not work out. However, I met a frustrating amount of resistance. In one particular case, the director first told me that she has a rotating menu, but that it would take some work to find the lists of ingredients for individual meals. When I asked her if I would be able to provide Bryan's food if she wasn't able to find the ingredient lists, she told me that learning to eat outside of the home was a big part of the child's social development, and that it was too important of an experience for her to allow that. I was completely taken off-guard! While I understand her point, this is more of a safety issue than a picky-eater issue. I would love to be able to send Bryan somewhere and just have him sit down and eat whatever everyone else is having. But I can't. HE can't. And I was extremely disappointed that she didn't seem to understand that.

So as it stands, we're still up in the air. Maybe we'll start soccer lessons instead...