The Big Switch

Landon starts at his new daycare on Monday. I spent about a week of last month panicking at the thought of the switch and the making of the lunches and the closing 15 minutes earlier and wondered WHY we thought this change was a good idea. I very nearly called new place to see if we could get back our deposit (all one-freaking-thousand dollars of it) and old place to see if Landon could keep his spot, but then I got too busy to do either one and inaction made me re-convince myself we'd made the right decision. And after receiving a pleasant introductory phone call from his new teacher, attending New Parents Orientation on Tuesday night, and taking Landon to Open House Friday night, I am so excited about New Center.

His teacher has been working in early childhood education for thirty years and has been at New Center since it opened fifteen years ago. She seems warm and smiley and obviously loves what she does - this is a career for her, not a stop-over on the way to something else. New Center pays well above market and has one of the lowest teacher turnover rates in Austin. Every employee I met truly thinks of themselves as a teacher and not just a kid minder/wrangler. We've really liked the place he is at now, but I feel like we got lucky with his teachers and each year it would have been a crapshoot as to whether we got a good one. Like most daycares, his current one doesn't pay all that well and turnover is very high- some seem to really enjoy what they do, others are obviously waiting for something better to come along. New Center felt like a whole bunch of preschool teachers who happen to teach other younger ages.

I loved all their talk about learning through play and themes and modifying their plans based on what the kids seem interested in. They spend a lot of time outside and I have yet to meet a parent in our community who doesn't rave about the time their child spent at New Center. And because it is a neighborhood center with a part-time program, nearly every child around us has been through its doors, which adds a neat feeling of community. I'm excited for him- I think he's going to thrive there. He seemed to love his new classroom at Open House- jumping down from my arms to play with new buses and meet the other kids. He shared all of his toys, even going to get another block from a bin so that a third boy joining the block area could have one. He's so friendly and sweet and unafraid of anything, I'm always so proud of him when he's with other kids.

I'm still nervous about the packing of the lunch each night. I know we'll get used to it and I think he'll end up eating more and better foods, but we've been so spoiled by just dropping him off in the morning with nothing but the clothes on his back. I've already packed his lunch box for tomorrow and the organizing, school-supply loving part of me had a great time filling his little containers with cut-up fruit, veggies, and a wee crustless peanut butter sandwich. We'll see how long the enjoyment lasts- I packed JP's lunch for about a week after we were married and then decided I was over the wifely feeling it gave me. JP and I will probably just trade-off the responsibility, I'd give it to Landon as his first official family chore, but then his box would be filled with 6 muffins and a gallon of milk.

I have Landon's daycare bag all packed with his diapers, wipes, nap stuff and a poster with family pictures. He has a little penguin backpack that is so adorable I can't wait to put it on him and take 100 pictures. I think he's going to love his new school and I'm so excited for all the fun and friends and buses he's going to have there.