Long before we'd finished changing multiple diapers per day and juggled dual bottle feedings as infants, even prior to saying our recent goodbyes to daily naps, Mike and I were already confronting the NEXT BIG THING: Preschool. Yes, Preschool.
We'd talked about our vision for Paige and Taylor's preschool from even their youngest years. Even though kids attend preschool and even kindergarten for such a short period of time each day, and that most of their early childhood development and learning happens at home with moms and dads through books, games, puzzles, songs, field trips, etc., we always knew that we would want Paige and Taylor to experience a preschool program once they turned 4 years old.
Well, 4 years old is almost here. Paige and Taylor turn 4 years old next month, and we want them to attend preschool starting in January after the preschool's Christmas break is over. We think it's important for them to learn some core concepts that will be taught in a preschool environment and that will help get them ready for kindergarten - things like confidence, good peer relationships, the abilities to tackle and persist at challenging tasks, to listen to instructions (by someone other than mom and dad) and to be attentive. And, while I think that our girls - as with all twins and multiples - have enjoyed their own built-in peer companionship and have had to learn about sharing and waiting their turn perhaps earlier than those children who are singletons or who have siblings of different ages, I still want to give Paige and Taylor an opportunity to play with other children in a school environment and I think that preschool will really help them learn about the world that exists beyond their twinship.
Well, tonight after I finish writing this blog posting, I will tackle the registration packets for Paige and Taylor and will also write checks reserving their spots in preschool. I had a tour of the school today and absolutely fell in love! I'd visited several other schools in the area and none had really sparked my interest the way that this school did! I toured the classrooms, reviewed the curriculum and the daily schedule for the children and this one today, was THE ONE! The school that we have selected is a Christian preschool (as well as elementary, middle-, high-school) that will offer Paige and Taylor an academically challenging curriculum in an environment that supports Biblical principles - both of which are really important to us as parents. The preschool emphasizes learning through play and socialization; and in addition to having a beautiful school campus, a credentialed teaching staff as well as the latest and greatest amenities in the classrooms, another reason I was drawn to this particular school is that they have a reputation for giving their preschool children a headstart on phonics to help lay the groundwork for their future endeavors in learning to read in kindergarten.
In closing this post tonight, as excited as I am about the twins attending this Christian preschool, I am also a little sad. Sad that my babies are growing up...where did the time go? It seemed like just yesterday we were bringing them home from the NICU, and yet, look at them now, in just another month, they'll be starting preschool and venturing out into this wide, wonderful world!