ambrose is the youngest in the class, they are a little too laid back on occasion for my taste, and when we are there i spend a lot of time chasing ambrose away from the yard or street or trying to get him to participate when he is not even interested.
having said that, there are so many reasons why i am thankful that we are a part of Na Kamalei KEEP.
(here he and his shiny forehead are back on the first day of school when he was almost 18 months wearing the field trip t-shirt they give the kids)since we have been in the program ambrose has learned so much already. before he would never sit at a snack table and eat- he does that now and looks so adorably grown-up doing so.
he gets along well with the other kids and i love seeing him get that social time with me there to direct it. even when he is in a cranky mood (today) he perks up when he is learning something new and interacting with the other children. i think he is too young for me to just drop him off somewhere and not see how he is treating other kids and what behaviors other kids are teaching him. i can direct the interaction while still letting him figure things out. it is very ideal.
today he went over to the puzzle station and put all of the puzzles together! they were just perfect for him. he was excited and i could sit right there and call out the various colors and he loved the interaction. he even said, "lelo" (yellow) a first for him.
he gets to learn from other adults (teacher auntie keahi, kapuna uncle benny and assistant teacher auntie sharla) as well and learn to listen to them and respect them. i think this is a really important skill to learn.
he learns hawaiian songs and words and we all know that language development is key in brain development.
plus we get to go on cool field trips all the time. last week we were sick for library day, but thursday we get to go to the bishop museum. i like getting to know what resources are available in the community so we can vary our routine and keep learning fun and interesting.
so today i am thankful for this preschool program because it is parent directed, but has all the resources that we dont have at home. i can be there, teaching my son and learning with him, but others are organizing great opportunities for us and so far it has already made a big difference in ambrose's life. that's important to me.
i really believe in parents being the first and most important teacher in the life of their child. we dont always accomplish everything we set out to do since he is so young and oh-so opinionated, but by showing up and trying our best we are learning together and stretching ourselves and seeing progress is the greatest reward for all that effort. i hope i can always find opportunities for my son to learn and grow and i am honored and happy to be a part of it.
8 comments:
It sounds like a great program- What a good mom you are! Thanks for the donation. Also, I can't stop singing "West Coast."
I want to be like you when I grow up. I love ya!
I can't wait for Indie to be able to go to this preschool, especially since it is across the street from my house. Did you get your bag from my house today? Sorry that I was not there, I feel really lame about it.
hey meg- yeah, i got it! thanks so much- i love it!
i whole-heartedly agree with you -- parents are their childrens' first teachers. and that situation you are in with ambrose sounds very ideal, you getting to direct as well as watch him interact. sounds like fun! amby is such a cutie pie! i love all the pictures you guys take of him. so perfect, in a little kid way.
We had a really great pre-school experience like that (minus the Hawaiian stuff!) in California, and I've never found anything like it since. I didn't even know that Ambrose went to a preschool, and certainly didn't know that it was a cool one like that, where you get to attend with him. I really loved our Stepping Stones days. the other thing besides everything that you mentioned which was important for me was the adult interaction that I could get with all the other parents. We started going when Derek was about 3 yrs. and Justin was about 12 months. It was amazing how much Justin learned, and how early he was able to sit for circle time when he'd had that expectation all along. We went for about three years, until Justin went off to Kindergarten, and I decided to take a break for a year (I was actually a little bored, since we did many of the same things every year) and then start back up when Rebecca was a little older . . . but then we moved away.
Stephanie, I've really been enjoying your "I'm Thankful for..." posts! I've read every one and they really do uplift me. I catch myself getting into funks so often where I don't want to talk to people, don't want to do anything really and it's good for me to read things like this. I so often take for granted the fact that I have two beautiful little people who depend on me to teach them all the good things. And I should try to really enjoy the process. Before I know it, they'll be grown and gone....Thanks for the reminder!!!
You're dashing my dreams of birthing children and promptly handing them over to a nanny with all this talk of the rewards of spending time with your children ;) That preschool program sounds really unique, very cool.
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