Nursery school...WWYD

[lowrioh]

DD started going to a 10-2 nursery school in Sept. We signed her up for one day a week and put her on a wait list for a second day with the thought that we would start the second day when I went back to work after maternity leave (~Feb)

We just got an email that a spot has opened up and they are offering it to us. DD had a rough transition to starting school but has really started to enjoy it. With the new baby coming there are going to be a lot of changes and challenges and I'm not sure if putting her in a second day would be good for her or not. Here are some things that we are taking into consideration.

1) New baby on the way....not sure how she is going to react to her new sister etc. She loves babies but has had pretty negative reactions to me holding them in the last couple of months.

2) My mom (who she adores) will be down for the first 2 weeks postpartum. Mom is very good at engaging DD and doing activities with her. The ILs are coming mid-December for 4 weeks. We haven't seen them since DD was 6 months old (they live overseas) so I'm not exactly sure how they are going to interact with her but I think that they will also lavish attention on her.

3) DD has started showing signs that she is getting bored when she doesn't have an activity during the day. Right now DH makes sure that she gets out of the house every day, either to a class or to the park but I'm not sure if we are going to be able to keep that up with DD2s arrival...especially in the early days.

4) We really do like the school and the teachers. It is a very relaxed play focused program for 2 and 3 year olds. They focus on social skills (sharing, waiting your turn etc) and do small arts and crafts projects.

I can't decide if going the second day would be good for her (provide a routine/structure) or if it will cause her more stress on top of all the changes that are going to be happening in the house.

Any thoughts?

[TwoBees]

I think it would be good for her. It would give her time without her new baby brother/sister, give her time to interact with other kids her age, do activities, play, and other "big kid" things. Just my personal opinion.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I think it would be good for her. It would give her time without her new baby brother/sister, give her time to interact with other kids her age, do activities, play, and other "big kid" things. Just my personal opinion.

Absolutely agree with that. It's also so nice to have more of a routine and 1 day/ w can't offer that well.

Beth

[hopeful_mama]

It sounds like it could offer her some external stability with all the changes at home - and somewhere where she could get them off of her mind for a little while.

You'd probably do this naturally, but I'd try to play it up as an exciting opportunity that's completely unrelated to the arrival of the new baby. And once baby's here, if she says she wants to stay home with you & the baby, you could try something like how you have to look after the baby and the baby can't go to nursery school, it's only for big girls like DD, how lucky she is to get to go and what a shame the little baby can't join in the fun, etc...

[ha98ed14]

I'd send her for the second day. After the new baby arrives, it will give you another day of break and it will give her a place and space that is her own. I think putting her in for the 2nd day BEFORE the new baby comes is a good thing! She will be all settled in by the time the baby comes and she won't feel like she's being pushed out since newbie is here. I think its a win-win. Congrats of your new baby!

[nfowife]

do it. you won't regret it!!

[jerseygirl07067]

I highly recommend the 2nd day too. Speaking from experience, I had two in preschool 2x/week when DD #3 was born and it was soooo nice to have those two days when they were in school. Since once they got home it was so much harder juggling 2 preschoolers and a newborn.

You will still have 5 other days of the week that your DD is home so the relatives will still have lots of time with her.

[luckytwenty]

I think a more consistent schedule will be great--it's hard to adjust to one day a week because at that age, the time between one week to the next can feel like an eternity! I think it will be great for her.

[JustMe]

Another vote for a 2nd day. Two times a week is still not overwhelming, and I agree with others that it will help her to have more consistency and feel more comfortable at the school. I agree with others that it would be preferential to start her before the new baby comes and, personally, I would really try to make it as unrelated to the new baby as possible. As far as you mom and ILs coming, I think that's great, but the short amount of time of the 2nd day of preschool probably wont impact her time with them much. Since your mother's visit is shorter, I am sure you could keep her out of preschool one day...or, maybe your mom would like to spend some time with her at the preschool...so dd could show her what she does, etc.

[tiapam]

I would send her now. Will your mom and ILs be able to help with drop off and pick up? I bet she would like that and it would be a big help to you. Or they can stay with baby while you take her all by yourself.

[lowrioh]

Thanks for the responses. It seems like the consensus is to send her.

The opening starts on the 2nd of November and I'm due on the 25th so we would have at least a week or two of two days a week. I had DD1 at 38 weeks and my Dr thinks there is a good chance I will go at least a week early this time.

My mom comes and visits a lot so I'm not concerned about them not getting to spend time with each other. The ILs visit coinsides with the holiday break so there would actually only be 2 extra days that she would "miss" with them. The school is pretty flexible. We could send her from 10-12 and then pick her up or just not send her if ILs feel like they want to spend more time with her.

Drop off/pick up won't be an issue during my my maternity leave since I have a SAHD and the school is less than a mile from the house. ILs would definitely help by watching the new baby for 10-15 min if I need to go myself. (They won't be covered by our car insurance so I won't ask them to drive).

DH and I will talk about it tonight and make a decision. I'm definitely leaning towards starting the second day now rather than waiting.