This past week had been a busy one for us.  Our little boy had his first day of school last Thursday and I started a new gig.  For a two year old,  Jakub is pretty good with separation anxiety.  In the beginning, he was overwhelmed with the new surroundings and the new faces, so he was clinging on to me.  But as soon as he saw the toys and warmed up to the people, he was perfectly fine.

Sending him to school was like replaying those memories when I had to put him in daycare because I had to go back to work.  It was a little bit tough to go back home to an empty house.  And of course, it is also normal for a mom to be anxious about her child’s safety when in somebody else’s care.  But because I know that  he is safe and can survive by himself, it was a lot easier for me.  There were no tears shed.  When I picked him up that afternoon, both of us came home happy and satisfied.

He is recently attending a private preschool close to our place.  The place is called Krokodyl Kolin and it is operating on its first year this year.  After a quick search on preschools within our area, I opted to let him go to Krokodyl because of its  Montessori pedagogy approach that favors individual work of children, where the caregiver is a guide and mentor and the child is encouraged to get things tested and explored.   Tasks like  dressing, hygiene, working with utilities, cleaning, preparing snacks etc. are just a few of the activities that they teach.  Teaching is mainly in Czech which is perfect for Jakub’s adaptation into Czech society.

Krokodyl offers a variety of programs to suit each child’s needs.   Whether you prefer sending your child to school the whole week, 2x a week or even once per week, the choice is yours.  Since Jakub is only 2, I decided to let him attend classes two times per week, halfday.  Besides, we have an exercise class that we regularly attend on Mondays, and I wanted to spend the other 2 days with him.  Ten hours of “me” time per week is enough for me.   So far, I have observed that he is quite happy with this arrangement.  He comes home with artwork that he did in class and sometimes I would catch him singing nursery rhymes that I am not familiar with.

If you would like to know more about Krokodyl, please click on this link.  You can also find them on facebook here.

On his first day, his teacher promised to send me a text message to update me on how he is doing.  She said:  “Jakub is perfectly fine…the quickest child here.”  I am not so surprised.  Even if he is my only child, I already have my hands full.