Taking a Break

School has been an important part of Liam's life since he was 9 months old. We've always called daycare 'school' so Liam might connect his time away from home with learning. He's benefited from the help of a few really good teachers, and we were lucky that he enjoyed spending his days with his friends and teachers at daycare.

At the end August, Liam's school director decided to move most of the children up a level. This was announced mid-August, and by early September, the change would be complete. However, Liam really didn't feel ready to move up. Not many two-and-a-half year olds would be able to tell his parents that he wasn't ready, but Liam is so verbal that he not only explained his problem, but he offered a solution.

Liam loves to talk about everything. He's now speaking in full sentences, holds meaningful conversations (at least they are meaningful to him) and he shares his feelings like they matter to everyone. With this comes a very sensitive side; Liam's afraid of many things. So while it sounds like Liam would be ready for the fun times in Preschool A, he was scared of the big kids, the new teacher and a variety of real (and imagined) things lurking in the new classroom.

What's a parent to do? We tried to help him to accept the new situation and to overcome his fears. After a few weeks, we saw that the stress was changing his sweet personality. He imagined scary things (like bears and bunnies) on the ceiling and on the roadside. Getting him to go into daycare was a daily low point. When I finally observed the class for a few minutes, immediately I knew what was wrong. The children were older, the classroom was chaotic, and the teacher shouted at the children.

So we evaluated the situation and decided it was time for Liam to take a break. Liam suggested that he could stay with Erica (our friend and neighbor) while I worked, and he would let me work when he and I were home together. He also suggested that he could go to Mommy's school because he's big enough now, or he could stay home alone. When I asked what he would do at home, alone all morning, his eyes got real wide. After a long thought, he said, "Read lots of books. And watch a little TV or something."

He's two.

So two days a week, Liam has been spending his early mornings with Erica and Kaile, who is a year younger than Liam. One morning when we both had to go in early, Liam suggested he could make himself breakfast and walk to Erica's by himself.

He's two, but he thinks he's twelve.

On Mondays, he hangs out with Carter and Krysti, who he refers to as "My Carter" and "My Kwisti." She watched Liam when he was about 5-9 months old, and he still remembers it. One morning on the way to her house, he said, "Remember when Kristi came to our house and Carter and I would stand at the baby gate and yell like this 'aaaaaaaaahhhh' like that?" In fact I did remember, and was only a little surprised that Liam did too. My sweet memory was interrupted by the voice in the back seat that added, " He still yells like that. But now it's funner."