After much consideration we decided to send Piper to preschool this fall. She's very used to spending the vast majority of her time with her Mama so we've been doing a fair amount of preparatory work. We've been telling her stories about make believe children who go to visit their grandmas or who spend the day at school. The child always has loads of fun. The story ends with Mama coming to pick up the happy child and taking her home. At a friend's suggestion we checked a book out of the library called Mama Always Comes Home about various animal Mamas who need to leave their little ones for short periods.

Even closer to reality, we also talk about the teachers she will be spending time with and the other children she will meet. She is a cautious child - often clinging to me for the first hour of a new situation. Only after she has observed the activities and people in the new environment will she feel comfortable exploring. Since we attended parent/child classes at the school, she is familiar with the classroom and has met one of her teachers. She also knows some of the children.

About a week ago, we were discussing her Pre-K class. "I don't want to go to Pre-K anymore, Mama," she proclaimed.

My heart sank. "Why not, Piper?"  

"I want to go to a different school."

"But you love your school. Where do you want to go?" I asked.

"I want to go to a school with numbers. Not Pre-K."

It turned out that she has heard me talking with her older brothers about their classes. She wants to skip completely over the whole Pre-K and Kindergarten thing and move directly into first grade. In fact, she has decided that she wants to turn 6 instead of 3.

Here I've been so concerned that she may not be ready to spend three mornings away from me every week. My daughter and I have been very close, which tends to result from following the guidelines of attachment parenting. I'm sure that there will be an adjustment period, but I'm confident that she is ready to spend more time with playing with her peers. I also look forward to being able to work during daylight hours without having an almost preschooler pulling at my shirt tails saying, "Play with me, Mama."

Just so long as she doesn't grow up too fast. :)