Starting nursery
The decision to send my son to nursery was a difficult one. He had already spent 9 months with a childminder whilst I attended a college course, but we had fallen out, and I didnt want to go down that route again. I thought maybe a nursery would be better for several reasons - my son was always a very sociable child, and enjoyed the company of other children. I thought it would be better preparation for school, it would help his speech, and was better for improving social skills. I do voluntary work for the local authority, running a forum for young people who are or have been in care, and I was currently using friends as babysitters whilst doing this. I though nursery would provide a more stable form of childcare for him.
Picking the nursery was relatively easy - I first tried the one closest to my house, but they didnt take children till the term before they turned three, and this was the september after he turned two. The second one I went to, both my foster-brothers had been to, and I knew the nursery vaguely from picking them up and dropping them off. I rung them up and arranged to go and have a look around. I was impressed with how thorough the staff where, walking me through everything they did with the children, the different areas of the nursery, the loose curriculum they followed, making play educational, the range of activites they did with them. They were able to awnser every question I asked and the staff were very friendly and open. It seemed to me like a place Id like to go to as a child, so that was that.
The first day is always guaranteed to be a tear-jerker. I couldnt believe my little boy was starting nursery! I was so nervous on his first day that we were there 45 minutes before the session started! I was worried I'd feel out of place, being probably the youngest mum there, but it was never an issue. Ryan was bit upset when I dropped him off, as you'd expect in a new place full of children and adults he didnt know, and I felt so guilty. Was I doing the right thing? I rung the nursery half-way through the day to see how he was doing, and they gave me an informed and honest report, which set my mind at ease. They told me that yes, he had been a bit confused and upset, but he was ok and taking part in activities, and they'd like to keep trying with him. His previous childminder would have told me to pick him up for whinging, so I was impressed with this.
As time went on, he settled in well. To begin with, the nursery would let Ryan be with the workers that he was most comfortable with, and soon he got to know and trust all of them. He looks forward to going, and even asks to go on weekends! His key workers always keep me well informed of any issues or progress, and he talks fondly of them. He has made many friends and loves to tell me all the stuff they have been doing. His favourite activity is painting, something we rarely do at home because it gets EVERYWHERE! Ryan comes home singing nursery rhymes, counting better than I have ever been able to teach him, and last week, he got his clock out and started changing the hands and telling me the time! I didnt even know he could do that! His speech is near perfect, and he is a very confident and friendly child, with a brilliant imagination and the ability to share his toys quite happily. He has now been there a year and half, and I trust the staff implicitly.
My advise for picking a nursery would be always go with your gut instinct. Would you like to go to this place? If they dont give you a full tour, ask yourself (and them!) why? Dont be afraid to ask any questions. Take your child with you when you visit, and see how they react. Do you think they'd fit in? Is there enough staff? Do the children there seem happy and content?
And make sure you have lots of spare wall space at home once they start - the amount of drawing, paintings and random pieces of artwork they come back with is overwhelming!
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