So it looks like our preschool experiment has come to an end just two weeks in. Up until Friday I had stayed with Little Cat for all of his three hour sessions, waiting in the sidelines as he grew more confident in his surroundings and started branching out to play more. This past week I got the impression that my presence was no longer quite as welcome as it had been the first week, and was told by one member of staff (who I quickly set right) that he would cry, as all children do and that I would have to bite the bullet and leave him eventually. Despite this, most of the staff were warm and loving towards him, and halfway into Fridays session I decided that I would try and pop home for a while to see how he did without me. I waited until I was sure he was happy, told him I was going and that if he wanted me to come back or if he wanted to come home at any time, he could just ask one of the ladies to call me and I would come straight back. I would only be round the corner. He was happy with this, so I went to speak to his key-worker who seemed unsure if she could call me and went to ask another member of staff. She was reluctant but agreed to do as I asked, so I waved goodbye to LC and left. On the way out I bumped into the supervisor in the garden and told her that I was leaving LC for the first time and repeated that they were to call if he asked them to and I would come straight back. She immediately said that she would not do that, and would only tell me at the end of the session if he had been upset as otherwise he would learn that he could call me anytime he liked (which I saw as a positive) and that he would struggle with settling in. I told her this was totally unacceptable and that I would leave with him now if that was the case. She said that he will cry but that he will get over it and learn to settle in. Again I told her this was unacceptable and not how we treated our child. Eventually she agreed to call if he asked, but I didnt trust her word at all. I knew from that moment that I wouldnt trust that he wasnt crying for me, and that they were ignoring his cries. I knew then that our journey was over. It seems that although they were initially very open to my point of view as a home educator and our wish for him to have freedom to play, not to be forced to settle before he was ready, and not to be prepared for school since he isnt going, that turned out not to be the case. On top of this breach of trust some of the activities that were required there were not things he enjoyed, and both me and his daddy were worried that his passion for learning and his spirit would be dampened by the experience. So, we have tried it, and now we are even more certain of the path we belong on. And that is the end of our preschool adventure!
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 18:00:00 +0000
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