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A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013

{inspired by Jodi}

{Harper} Eyelashes that almost touch her eyebrows.

{Finn} Sending my first-born off to Pre-school. He was happy, confident and ready for new adventures.

 

The B-sides (because two photos seems a little minimalist for me…)

{an early morning backyard find}

{"I brushed my curls Mum"}

{Collecting produce from our garden. So very satisfying}

{a new book tradition begins. Finn & Harper were both gifted a school themed book the day before they began Preschool and Playschool. At the beginning of each school year I plan to record a message to them inside each book}

{Ten minutes until the first day starts. Waiting patiently, with a touch of nerves.}

{Connecting with one of the school displays}

{Finn was quick to engage with the table activities. Little sis joined in too. Of coarse.}

{Harper's turn. Starting Playschool. I believe she was clicking her fingers here and saying "hurry up Mum". After seeing her big brother go through two years at the same Playschool she was BEYOND ready to start}

{ice-cream is always better with sprinkles}

{Two full days of Pre-school equals one very tired boy}

{after a week where a great deal of energy and attention was directed towards Finn, Harper was due some quality one on one Mumma time. By chance, the night before I found out that 'Aladdin' was screening at our local cinema. So with every Princess item from the dress up box on, we headed off for Harper's first movie experience. Harper's verdict "It was good. It was a bit sad, a bit funny and also a bit scary"}

{my girl}

 

Documenting Delight: day three hundred and fourteen {new school}

 

{walking to school....how could i not have visions of these two doing this together in years to come?...maybe not always holding hands though}

Today Finn came a little closer to being a fully fledge pre-schooler, completing his second Pre-School transition visit at his new school.  Finn has spent two years at a lovely community based Playschool after our decision to delay his start at Preschool until next year. That decision has been a good one for our Finn. He has shown a lot of growth socially and emotionally during his second year;  interacting positively and talking about his friends, moving easily between activities (well, most of the time) and showing readiness and interest in making a transition to a learning environment beyond the safety and familiarity of this special place.

Today Finn held my hand and entered his new classroom at our local school. An Early Childhood school that caters for children between Pre-school to Year 2 and that is six doors down from our house. Yes, six doors. We basically have no excuse to be late for school come January 2013. Attending a school within our own suburb was very important to us. We want our children to be part of a community, to see their friends at school but also have the chance to interact with them easily after school, and the chance to walk to and from school is a given perk! It is such an incredible bonus that this school has a welcoming feel and a teaching philosophy that values the importance of play, enquiry and investigation. I couldn’t help but see displays on the walls and children at work throughout the school and think, my guy is going to blossom in this learning environment.

It feels good to know he is ready. There will be challenges ahead I’m sure, but mainly I am just eager to see what that inquisitive mind and kind heart of his is capable of in this new stage in his life.

{the hanging sculpture in the foyer. i LOVE that play is valued at this school}

{finn was quite taken by this blocks table: "mum, it has fake grass on it. fake grass!"}

Documenting Delight: Day forty

Second day back at Playschool and Finn fell straight back into the routine. As this was a transition week parents were asked to stay for the entire session. This time last year I sat nervously during mat time, watching Finn look disinterested. This morning I watched with a smile on my face as Finn answered questions and told his teacher about his new Puma shoes which he loves so much. My Finn; Calm, confident and happy.

The next little anecdote may seem like a little “story” I have created if it is read by anyone who knows Finn. Cross my heart, it’s not.
At the dinner table each night we recount our day and we each talk about our favourite thing from the day. Finn usually says something along the lines of “I liked making a tow truck out of boxes” or “I loved it when I saw three trucks when I was in the car.” So it was a bit of a surprise when this conversation unfolded tonight:

Me: What was your favourite part today Finn?
Finn: Mummy, did you go to Playschool with me today?
Me: Yes I did.  

Finn: That was my favourite part.

Heart melted. Right there.

Documenting Delight: Day thirty nine

A thumbs up for the first day back at school.

Finn began his second year at Playschool (pre-preschool for 3-4 year olds) today. My wonderful friend Kate wrote about her daughter’s first day at the same preschool this week. She did a brilliant job of explaining what this special place is all about, she’s high on details (unlike me) so if you want to read more about it, head over here.

It was a calm morning around here. It is a new year however Finn is very comfortable in his Playschool environment and the fact that no big adjustments are needed this year makes for a settled start for everyone in our family.  What a difference this is to last year’s first day of Playschool for Finn and myself. Finn’s birthday is close to the ACT school cut off date and this means that we had to decide whether to start him in Pre-school this year or in 2013. At the beginning of last year Finn was one of the youngest in his class, and noticeably so. Combine this with never being in any sort of formal daycare before starting this structured program and you had one rattled little boy. The transition was slow, emotional and had me questioning whether I had made the right decision to enrol him at all. With the support of his amazing teachers by Term 2 he was happy and enjoying the new challenges in and outside of the classroom. The remainder of the year went smoothly and Finn’s confidence rose and I fell in love with the school.

When the Pre-school enrolment period approached I knew that Finn wasn’t ready to move onto the next level. On a skills/academic level he showed readiness but his social confidence was lacking. He was wary of change, rarely noticed his classmates and to me the gap between him and the majority of the children who were moving on was still substantial. Being a Kindergarten teacher, I knew from experience that in the beginning some of the younger students found school an uphill battle. Most of them by mid year were settled and caught up to their peers but did I really want Finn to enter school not feeling at ease, a little out of his depth until he finally coped? Not a chance. If our decision to hold him back would help him enter school with confidence and a little social awareness under his belt we were going to do it.

There are a lot of parenting decisions that I agonise over, but this one wasn’t one of them. It was one of the first “big parenting decisions” where I felt confident that we made the best decision based on the needs of our child, no outside influences, just us trusting our judgment. That felt good.

I can’t wait to see what this schooling year holds for our Finn. He really couldn’t be at a better place.