preschool

Tomorrow is the first day of my son's school life in which he is a "food allergic child." I've gotten an action plan signed by his allergist, I've provided a picture ID, I've written his name on his epipen, and I've gotten allergy medicine divided into a smaller "school" bottle with proper labelling and dosing cup. I've gathered safe snacks, written his name on them, and put them in a bag to take to school. I've stuck a label that says "food allergies" on his nametag (from www.labelitorloseit.com, save 10% and get me some cash for the baby's crazy-expensive formula by using discount code Tiger). I just ordered labels that indicate that a food is safe for him as well. I figure maybe I can teach him that if he's away from home and a food has "his" sticker on it, he can eat it. No sticker, no eating. That's a lot easier than trying to help him memorize 30 foods. Never mind that he can't read the labels yet.

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* PICKING A PRESCHOOL *

Find out which of the preschool types in the country today is the right one for your child

Preschool marks a significant period in a child's basic life. Parents have the primary responsibility of deciding which kind of teaching method will home their tot's ability to the fullest.

Will your child feel more comfortable in a big classroom setting or in a more intimate group? Would you prefer a specialized teaching method that focuses on your child's strengths or a method that allows him to explore all possible subjects.

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Tomorrow my son starts preschool and our lives will be changed forever. Every Tuesday and Thursday he will have someplace important to be for three hours. The fact that he rarely gets enough sleep (his choice) will actually matter. He will do things that I know very little about on a regular basis. This is a big difference from staying at home with me or spending the day with Gram and Pap.

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It is too damned expensive! We went to the open house on Wednesday evening and my son fell in love with the place as did my husband & I. It is a brand new facility near our house with a Spanish immersion program (which is huge for us since I speak to my son only in Spanish at home, dad talks to him in English), assist in potty training (also key, sicne I don't want him to regress from what he has accomplished so far) and the teachers seemed wonderful, not to mentiont hey have wonderful natural toys and an prganic menu of snacks & meals.

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Someone on another website I frequent (babyfit.com) wanted some ideas of what to do if it is too hot to take a toddler outside to play. Here are my favorite top-ten that I used to do with my kids when we didn't have the option of heading outdoors.

1) Cut out oversize footprints from aluminum foil and tape these in a track that loops and twirls all over the apartment while DH is napping. When she wakes up, she has to follow the footprints, step by painstaking step, to her "treasure" at the end of the trail ('nilla wafers.)

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Yes. I admit it. I'm ashamed, but it's true.

My 3.5 year old son isn't potty trained.

Everything I read and heard told me not to push him, that it only made things worse. So I didn't. And didn't. And didn't. And now I am expecting another baby in a couple of very short months and I'd *really* like to not have 2 in diapers since they're so far apart in age. Plus the one and only preschool we could find in this tiny town doesn't like kids who aren't potty trained. So I figured it was time to force the issue, gently.

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A few days ago I met up with a friend who has a nearly two-year-old daughter named Lauren. Lauren and my son met at a library story group when they both were just a few months old. Recently, Lauren's mom and her husband signed Lauren up to go to the same preschool that my son will be attending in the fall.

The preschool is offered by my church. As a member I was able to sign up in advance of the public registration day.

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