A New School for Eli? Maybe!

Eli has been going to a preschool three days a week this year for three hours a day and it has been SO great for him. He loves going to school and his teachers, Mrs. Audley and Mrs. Shannon, are wonderful. I can't say enough positive things about the program. Eli has made friends, he gets to do art and music, he plays outside, and he's learned a lot of structure. His teachers at school say he is so sweet and always follows directions and does what he's supposed to do. I'm always a proud Momma when I hear that :)

A few weeks ago, his preschool sent a letter of intent home with Eli for next year so they could get an idea of how many kids plan to return. Josh and I were torn. While we love the program and cannot say enough good things about it, getting Eli there by 9:00 and then picking him at by 11:45 is hard for two people that work full time jobs. Thankfully, this year we were blessed with Mrs. Cathy. She has been a true Godsend! Without her, Eli wouldn't have been able to go to this preschool at all this year. We love Mrs. Cathy and are so glad that she volunteered to be the one to drop Eli off in the mornings for us. Plus, she and Eli have bonded quite a lot this year and he's made a new friend :)

Before we returned the intent form to his preschool, we heard about an Open House at a private school in our area that was allowing kids who were 2 years old and who would turn 3 years old a few months after school started into their 3 year old program. We went there a few weeks ago during the Open House and fell in love with the school. We toured the school, saw his potential classrooms, and met with his potential teachers. The classrooms were beautiful and kid-friendly and the two teachers could not have been nicer.

We picked up a registration packet and filled it out and turned it in. While we ABSOLUTELY LOVE everything about the preschool program he has been going to, this school will fit with our schedules much better and will actually save us money each month, which is really good since we are pinching pennies for our new house adventure :) He can get to school by 7:30 and we can pick him up by 3:30, which works much better with full time working parents. During the week, he'll go to library, art, music, P.E., and Bible class. He'll do centers in the mornings and they still take about a 1 1/2 hour nap during the day. Two of his friends from his old preschool have also registered for the new school as well, so he'll know some of the kids in his class.

We are sad to say goodbye to his old preschool, but we are looking forward to all the fun he's going to have at his new school. He'll have to do the 3 year old class two years because of the way his birthday falls, but that's perfect with us. Now the only thing we have to REALLY REALLY work on is potty training. He has to be fully potty trained before he can go to his new school. He's been doing so well since he expressed interest in going on the potty. He goes at Mrs. G's house all day long, but for some reason is scared to go on the potty at his current preschool. Usually at home, he does very well, but recently he's started to regress and not want to go. We've heard from several friends that their kids did this too, so I'm hoping it's just a phase he's going through and that it won't last long! I even bought a pack of big boy underwear that I plan on using with him during my Spring Break :) They're SUPER CUTE! I can't wait to see his little booty in them.
I'm hoping that this summer he will "get it" completely, so next fall we can see him here...

The first 3 year old classroom we visited

The second 3 year old classroom we visited

Say a prayer for us as we try to tackle this potty training challenge :) I know he'll be able to do it!