.little sprouts.

Today was a big day for us. We finally made the decision on a preschool for Nyah. This decision had been stressing me out for a while now. Some people say preschool is just for fun and some say it sets the foundation for learning. Either way it was important to us to find a preschool that would be a good match for our girl. Knowing that Nyah is very cautious and shy, I wanted an environment that wouldn't be too overwhelming and where she would feel safe. I had visited a lot of preschool website and there were 2 in our neighborhood that I thought would be so convenient.

The first one I visited was Creative Kids Preschool. It had a lot of positives and a few negatives. A big draw back for me was that it had no real outdoor space to play in. Some of my greatest memories as a kid are from the playground! I left there feeling like it was ok and I really didn't want just ok. I wanted "Wow!".

The second one we visited was Little Sprouts Preschool. This program is located inside Rosemary Heights School which would be Nyah's elementary school. It's set inside a very small classroom which at first glance I thought wasn't very impressive. But as I talked to the teacher, it all came together. There philosophy and low teacher to child ratio (10 kids max to 2 teachers) didn't need a large overwhelming environment to succeed. The more I thought about it, the more I realized this is the type of environment that Nyah would thrive in. There were so many little details that I loved about this program.... the family wall with photos, the workbook for each student put together with the teacher, the baking, the teaching of 10-15 French words a month and did I mention they go outside almost everyday!!! Love it! They also had access to the school's facilities like the library, gym and kitchen. What a great opportunity to also get her comfortable with her school before  full days of Kindergarten! (Oh my god... I can't believe I just typed the word Kindergarten.... Ahhhh.... I'm freaking out... before I know it she's gonna be graduating and I'm gonna be really old!) 

The teacher was so sweet and soft spoken with Nyah. It wasn't long until Nyah was interacting with her and my heart felt at ease. One of the highlights of our visit was when a little student came over to the teacher I was speaking with just to check in with her and give her a hug! So sweet! You could tell they genuinely cared for the kids and in return the kids loved them.

One of the defining moments for me was when we were speaking about separate anxiety and how they would handle it. She explained to me that because of the low kid to teacher ratio it gives them the opportunity to have a teacher step away and give some individual time to a student if they are feeling upset and needing some special cuddles or some redirection to a fun activity to get their mind off the separation. She said that once the child was settled and comfortable that they would give the parent a quick call to let them know things were fine! This was exactly what I needed to hear. Not only did they have a great strategy with dealing with a child's separation anxiety but they took care of a momma's anxiety too! The teacher also said we were welcome to come drop in for visits leading up to September to help get her comfortable with the environment. Isn't that amazing and so kind!

I left the preschool knowing in my heart this was the one. There were only 2 spots available and I knew there were 3 families visiting today so as soon as I got in the car before I even talked to Jay I called the program director to let her know we loved it. And just like that... we were in for September! Every Monday and Wednesday!

My big girl is going to Little Sprouts Preschool.