Tuesday, September 02, 2008

First Day of (Joy) School

Bella had her first day of preschool today. We decided to join a Joy School that our friend Karilee was organizing. We first met near the beginning of the year to talk about our plans to start this month, so I knew it was coming for a while. I'd never heard of Joy School before I moved to Charlotte, even though it was formed by, you guessed it, Mormons. Basically it's a program that you run yourself with all the participants in your group, following a curriculum that is found online. You join the site, and with the membership you then pay per semester for the curriculum. It is all planned and meticulously organized, you just have to carry it out. Sweet.
It's a good deal because I get to pass her off on someone else on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30-12, and I only have to take my turn every 5 weeks since there are 5 of us in the group. From the beginning I knew I would really enjoy 4 out of the 5 weeks, and that when my turn came up it would be hard for me- reasons chiefly being: I don't deal well with stress, chaos, messes and lots of kids, least of all when I am in charge of it and it is taking place in my home. I am constantly aware of the mess, disorder and chaos that is occurring all around me. Oh well, it'll be a good stretching experience. (We hope.)
Bella, all ready to go this morning. We got her a new backpack, or messenger bag. Small bags that can still accommodate normal pieces of paper were hard to come by- at least in Target's selection, which is all I had the energy to try yesterday. Add a new pair of pink Croc-style Mary Janes from Grandma, and she was styled and ready to go. The best part is that I know and trust all the women in our group, and I genuinely like all the kids. Which is saying something. So I wasn't at all nervous about leaving her- my only fears were that she wouldn't cooperate and make it hard for 'Miss Sarah', our lucky first teacher. Bella didn't mind me leaving at all, seemed to have a great time, and gave much protestation when I came to pick her up. It was a lot easier for her since she knew all of the kids and adults involved as well.
The only downer is that my week is next week. Yikes. We shuffled things around so I could have a turn before Fiona makes her arrival and then have a few weeks afterwards to pull it together again. I have been dreading my turn with growing anxiety as the culmination of Joy School drew near, but I think it'll be okay. Like I said, I already know and like the kids, there are only 5 of them including Bella, it's only 2 days, and 2 1/2 hours at a time, every 5 weeks. The curriculum is completely done, all I have to do is the preparation and presentation. And then I have another break for a few weeks. It could be fun. Right?
Nevertheless, I've really been looking forward to it for Bella. She needs the socialization, she needs the time away from me and out of the house, she needs the stimulation, the activities, and to learn the discipline of a 'classroom' environment. It's going to be great for her, and a good learning experience for me if I can take a few deep breaths and maybe a Valium or two when it's my turn. Next Week. Anyone know a doctor who will fax me a prescription before next Tuesday?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

That bag is HUGE! Bella is cute as ever.

I am glad you found this and hope that it turns out to be everything you want it to be and more. You can so handle it because it is YOU. 5 kids where there are set things and you don't have to totally come up with all the entertainment? You can do that! No surprises, the expectations of 3 and 4 year olds aren't high, they will play with each other more than anything...don't over think and don't stress. I have no doubts that you will not succeed!

michelle said...

She looks so cute and I have no doubt she will love it. Where did Mom get those shoes?? Eva needs some like that.

You will do fine, Jess. You just have to know that they will make some mess. Then they will all leave and you can clean up. I think it's great that you have the curriculum all mapped out. Easy peasy.

Diana said...

so fun. Alyssa said joy school is great because it is all planned out so it's not stressful.
I hope Bella enjoys it.

Jill said...

She looks so cute, though I'm surprised she can stand up while holding such a big bag!

I think you'll enjoying doing this. I did something like this when Landon was little (though I had to come up with my lesson plans) and loved it. I enjoyed the weeks I wasn't teaching more, but it was still fun.

Denise said...

She looks like she could fit inside that messenger bag! That is about the cutest first-day-of-school picture I've ever seen.

I'm with you on the anti chaos/mess thing. The thought of only having to do it every five weeks, however, should assuage some of the dread--and the fact that Bella will LOVE it!

Bond Girl 007 said...

oh I love the bag and she looks sooo cute. I think it will be a great thing for you and her as well...I am having anxiety...my little one is going to kinder tomorrow for the first time...a week late..ups..but nevertheless the start of a new routine...change is hard on me...and i am learning to let go and to take charge not easy!

Anonymous said...

My name is Paul Harris and i would like to show you my personal experience with Valium.

I am 55 years old. Have been on Valium for 20 days now. I decided to get off of all benzos after much reading and having a friend who was abusing Xanax kill himself (may have been other issues, too). I was taking about 4 mg of Klonopin daily. I read a lot of the reseach on benzos by Dr. Heather Ashton, one of the world's leading authorities on benzos. I was shocked to see her equivalency table for Klonopin and Xanax. 1 mg of Klonopin or Xanax is equel to 20 mg of Valium. That's right, 20!! Plus, Klonopin and Xanax have nasty side effects. That did it for me. No more benzos!! Because Valium has the longest half-life of any benzo and the least side effects, I'm using it and water-titration to get off Klonopin, a method widly used in Europe. 10% reduction every 10-14 days. So far so good.

I have experienced some of these side effects -
Headache, drowsiness in the morning. Hard time getting my Dr. to prescribe and go along with treatment program. Valium supposedly is far less addicting than some other benzos, with far fewer side effects. I hope that turns-out to be true.

I hope this information will be useful to others,
Paul Harris

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