New Pre-School: First Report, Zoo Trip and More!

Daniel has been now at his new school for just over a month and is doing extremely well! He has only cried once when Jonny dropped him off (never with me) and is almost always sad to come home in the afternoons. He just loves his new school! His main teacher, Mrs. Tran, is just phenomenal; she is kind and calm with an authoritative presence that is just perfect for 3 year olds. There are only 10 kids in his class (24 in the whole school ages 3-5) and most of them are already 4, so the atmosphere is a lot calmer than in his previous class (which had 16 two and a half to three year olds). 

The biggest challenge for him going to this new school has been that he has to use the bathroom all on his own. He had a couple of accidents the first week, but since then, has been doing just fine with that -- what a big boy!

The school is about 3 minutes away from my work so the location is just perfect. The current arrangement we have really could not be better, so we are so thankful to God for this provision!

This past Thursday, Jonny and I went to our first "parent-teacher" conference to talk with Mrs. Tran about Daniel. She only had good things to say about him and said she has been very impressed at how quickly he has adjusted to the school.This is the written report she shared with us:

"Daniel is doing great in my classroom! He has adjusted so well to our schedule and routines and is having fun with his new friends. While he is still a little shy in the morning sometimes, after a few minutes, he begins doing an activity (whether it's reading a book in the classroom or riding a tricycle out on the playground).

In the classroom, so far his favorite activities are using the train set and wooden city (that has a fire station in it) and playing in the dramatic play area (where again, he can be a firefighter)! He gets his friends to join in and together, they take fire trucks out through the classroom, rescuing people and using the fire hose. He has a wonderful imagination and I'm happy I've been able to get to know him these past few weeks.

I have seen that on occasion, he is uncomfortable using the bathroom in the classroom when he really needs to go so just keep having him use it in the mornings when he is dropped off will help him become more comfortable when he needs to use it during the day.

I've also noticed that he is quite social around the room and participates in all activities. He also answers and asks questions during circle time and seems comfortable doing so. It's obvious you have intellectual conversations with him at home because he shares that with us at school as well."

I haven't taken many photos of Daniel at his new school yet, but I took a few with my phone the day he went on his first field trip to the zoo -- just with his teachers and friends! I was happy to see that all the children wore the same t-shirt which had an emergency phone number on the back, and that Mrs. Tran was personally responsible for Daniel (each adult had to take care of 2 specific children -- some parents went as chaporones). One of the teachers took some photos at the zoo of the animals and children too -- it's easy to spot Daniel is his light-blue hat.

Daniel had a blast at the zoo! He said, "I want to go there again!" They all went together in a yellow school bus which was also a highlight for Daniel. His teacher said he just did wonderfully. He didn't once complain that he was tired and was able to keep up with all the kids, even though he was the youngest. We were so excited for him too and relieved it went so well!

Just this past Thursday, there was a family picnic in the afternoon to celebrate the end of the school year (the summer program, which is more like a summer camp, will start on June 20th). It was a great event and Daniel got to enjoy some new activities for the first time:

Thank you Lord for Daniel's new pre-school and that he has adjusted so well! This has been such an answer to prayer!