Last Day of Preschool
Saying bye isn't easy
Preschool has finally ended and Serophina’s last day was a reminder of how much I hate goodbyes. Even though she will still be in preschool next year, a lot of her little friends won’t be. She was in the pre-k combo class, which means that half the kids were going to be starting kindergarten in August.
On the last day of school, her class had a huge party complete with bouncy houses and pizza…. it was a blast and all the kids had a great time. As I sat with the other parents and watched the kids play, I felt sad that only half of them would be coming back for pre-school next year. Serophina hadn’t realized that yet and I wasn’t about to remind her!
We’ve been really fortunate to have met some really great parents and friends for Serophina and I guess saying goodbye will be a part of life from now on. It’s not so bad now, but once she gets older and we have to move every four years, it’s going to break my heart when she has to move away from her friends so often.
As for now, thank God it’s a small town and a lot of her friends live nearby so we have decided to have plenty of play groups over the summer.
Have your kids had to say goodbye to any of their friends yet?
Some of our good friends have moved/are moving this summer, and it’s making Nathan sooo sad. Emily is still little enough that she’s already gotten over it. Nathan, though, is having a harder time with saying goodbye. It’s not fun as a kid, and it’s not fun as a grownup either!
My child walked into day care today very surprised to find her class mates “dispersed” and herself alone in the class with all new children. Although she “graduated” along with all the other children she was not “advanced” to the next class –exact reasoning still unclear to my husband and I – they are citing numbers and ratios. My logic is if you graduate 18 children you should have a class / place for 18 children to advance to next. I left a sad and distraught child at day care to say the least. She can’t understand why she did not advance as all the others did. I was not told that the class would be ‘moved up’ and did not know — this is my first 5 yr old in daycare! No one at the day care communicated any of this to me or my husband so we did not prepare her. What bothers me most is that it was mentioned to the children and she asked us if she would be with her class. I assured her she would thinking this day as no different from any other because if it were, surely I would have been notified. I had a child who just started liking to go to daycare (the first 2-3 months were horrific), was developing friendships and who was blossoming. Now I am back to square one – she doesn’t want to go again, she has no friends and she feels left behind. When I asked the day care what my daughter will be doing while the class begins anew, the secretary stated that they “dont follow a curriculum in the summer”…not comforting in the least! Hopefully we can get through this until August when her regular kindergarten class begins. I have not had very good experiences with the 2 day cares I have had her in here in Jacksonville (1 home and 1 center).
Hi Lisa, I can definitely sympathize with you and your daughter. It’s not right for you guys to be blindsided like that. I’d be upset too! Was your daughter the only one in the class that stayed?
In Serophina’s school they did a great job letting all the kids know that some would be graduating and wouldn’t be coming back. Serophina won’t be going during the summer anyway, so our situation is a little different in that she’ll have three whole months to “forget” about the close friendships and when she starts again in August, will be excited to meet new friends.
I would definitely voice your concerns to the director of the school, as they should have your child’s best interest in mind and it sounds like they didn’t prepare you or her of such a huge change! I’m not sure why they would let your daughter “graduate” with all the other kids, that is so misleading! You can’t fool them just cause they’re little. At five years old, they understand so much and are especially sensitive to things like this, so I can imagine how hard it must’ve been for her!
I hope your daughter makes new friends to help her with the transition. Hopefully they’ll have special activities that’ll make preschool exciting over the summer.
Good luck to you!
Hi. Thank you for your comments. I have been so terribly frustrated with this entire ordeal. My daughter was the ONLY one to stay behind. She is 5, she did graduate, she will be attending kindergarten in the fall. Their reasoning: ” we could only take 17 kids”. What is very upsetting is all of the side stepping around the subject. The director told us they were chosen by birthdate –nope, I know at least one child who was born the day after my daughter. Then they sited “ratios” as the reason. There were 18 children in the class — NC daycare standards states 8 children to 1 teacher — my calculations 16 per room at 4 and 5 yrs old. (They are allowed 1% over, so 1 more child =17). As I stated there were 18 four/five year olds in the class. The bulletin board clearly states the room capacity as a maximum of 16 children. My point…they have not been concerned about ratios in the past. Then she (director) states that she had only 2 days to place 17 five year olds….I was asked for the graduation fee in March, the daycare had been in Jacksonville for years, and it is not the 1st time 5yr olds have graduated. She also told my husband that my daughter will be the “first to move up if someone drops out”….NOT THE POINT!…The point is that my daughter was left behind after all the pomp and circumstance. I have a 5 yr old who feels she has failed daycare! The teachers made such a big deal about ‘moving up’ and practicing for the program and graduation — my daughter told me the teachers were the ones who told her it was time for the “big boys and girls” to move up and they would be going to a different level. After repeated calls, talks with the teachers, etc…no one in the administration has returned my calls or left me word in any form. I feel my daughter is owed an apology by the teachers, the director and the administrator (who at graduation gave a ‘moving’ speech about having the children’s best interest at heart).
Hi Lisa, I can’t believe that! Sounds incredibly irresponsible on the part of the daycare, which is really disconcerting because these people are taking care of children.
From the scenario you described, it seems like they made a giant snafu and are now trying to cover themselves with poor excuses.
If I were in your shoes I would not stop fighting. It’s not fair for them to leave your daughter behind for no good reason. If they made the mistake of overbooking the class or whatever the reason is… your daughter shouldn’t have to pay the price for that.
Is there someone higher up than the Director that you could talk to? Is there a Board of Directors? If so, take your case to them.
How has your daughter been adjusting the new children in her class? I hope she’s getting more used to the change and can enjoy it until something gets worked out.
Good luck to you!
Hi Brynn, yes it is hard to say goodbye at that age. We had some neighbors/good friends leave and Serophina was crying for them as they drove away. It was heartbreaking! Luckily kids make new friends fast, thank God for that!