by Richard
I’ll admit it. I was more than a little shellshocked when I was first left in charge of the little dudes (including a month-old Speed Racer, who didn’t actually race anywhere) while my wife, known to me as She Who Must Work, Work, Work And What Did You Do All Day?, went off to her first day of work here in Charlotte. I hadn’t had much sleep the night before and barely made it to the older little dudes’ school on time. Things were not looking good.
Still, time does make us proficient in some things. I got better at taking care of the little dudes, but I was still overjoyed when Speed Racer (now very much living up to his nickname) was old enough to go to pre-school. Finally, a couple of hours off every other day or so. It was nirvana. I got a nap, got some work done, all that fun stuff. Oh, yeah, and Speed Racer got acculturated to other kids, being away from me and learned something. Can’t forget that.
Fortunately, we had a good pre-school that delivered on most of our wants and all of our needs. How did we do that? By following a few simple suggestions, which I will now continue to give you. The first part of this list is here.
6. While cleanliness might not be next to godliness, it’s a darned sight closer to it than, say, soiled diapers on the floor and a miasma of stink pervading every surface. With the swine flu flying around (Get it? Pigs flying? ah, never mind), it’s more important than ever that the school you choose is kept clean and kids disinfectant needs are met. Remember: Most little dudes are walking snot factories. It can get ugly if not taken care of.
7. Make sure the pre-school’s beginning and end times work with your little dudette’s nap schedule. Really, this is only important at the beginning of a school year, but it can make you miserable when schedules don’t mesh, even if only for a month or so. After that, more than likely, your little dude will have acclimated to his new schedule.
8. Does the school offer a good selection of art on the walls for visitors? That is, does it look like the teacher did the work, or the student? This is an important point as it tells you something about how the school operates. If the artwork is little dude done, you can see that the pre-school is concerned with making sure its charges do things for themselves and really learn it. Teacher work, well, that just shows the school wants to have something nice to give parents. If you want a present, go buy one for yourself.
9. Potty training doesn’t end at home. Most schools have a potty training policy starting at certain ages. You need to make sure and find out when that policy kicks in. That is, the little dudes won’t be allowed to participate in class beyond a certain age if they’re not potty trained. Is your little dudette ready for that? And, heaven forfend, what happens if the little dude has an accident? Or two? Or twelve? It’s important to know these sorts of policies beforehand so you can be ready.
10. Little dudes and dudettes will not always do the right thing. No matter what a snuggle-bunny sweetheart your little dudette is, chances are sometimes she will do things he wants to do and not what an adult wants her to do. When this happens at school, there’s going to be a consequence. You need to find out what the pre-school’s discipline program involves. Are you comfortable with what it entails? If not, can you opt out of certain consequences? It’s important to know.
We’ll be back with the final five tomorrow.
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