Preschool = FOUND!

(This sweet face melts my heart.)

So here's the story: Last year Corbin went to the same preschool Jenalyn went to for two years. We loved the teachers and were very happy with the program. However, towards the end of the school year I was approached by one of the teachers and she told me she didn't think they could handle Corbin in their Pre-K class because it tends to be a bigger class, and Corbin requires a lot of supervision (he's a flight-risk when they're out on the playground).

**sigh**

I went home and cried. Is he really so much different than other boys his age?

So I called different preschools throughout the summer and found that they were all too expensive for our budget. I started getting really discouraged and almost decided to start up a co-op type preschool with other mommies in our ward...even though the thought of doing that with a newborn in my not-too-distant-future scared the whits out of me!

Then school started for Jenalyn and Corbin started asking more and more when HE gets to go to school. He was bored staying home with just mommy all day. Especially an achy, no-energy, 8-month pregnant mama!

So I talked to a friend from church and she reminded me of a preschool I hadn't looked into yet. The Teens and Tots program at a local Middle School.

Bonuses:

• They pair each kid up with a middle-schooler --> Corbin gets one-on-one time with a "teacher."
• They have a fenced-in playground --> no more flight-risk
• It costs significantly less than we were anticipating.
• It's 3-days a week for almost 2.5 hours each day --> that's going to be a nice break for me after the baby is born!
  

Class started today. And I called my mommy and cried after I dropped him off. Can you believe that? (1) He's not my first kid to go to school; and (2) This isn't even his first year of preschool - I don't think I cried last year when I dropped him off on his first day.

But he said something that tore at my heart. Not once, not twice, but three times while we were getting ready this morning he asked me, "Do you really think they'll like me, mommy?"

**sobs**

Corbin has a really good sense for knowing if an adult likes him, is annoyed with him, or barely tolerates him. I know he knew that one of the teachers at his last preschool had a particularly hard time with him. And I can always tell when he has a difficult time with teachers (mostly substitutes) in primary. So I believe he was truly, genuinely concerned with whether or not this new preschool would like him. (Oh no! The tears are starting again.)

He's such a sweet boy. I didn't want to leave him there. I wish I could have sat in the corner and just watched. He blew me the biggest, sweetest kisses as I walked out the door. I miss him already! I hope and pray that this will be a good experience for him.