Grandparent preschool do's and don't with a toddler!!!

Our little Haleigh has turned 3 in May and technically she is old enough for pre-k, but she had a traumatic winter and spring and refused to master the potty until just this month. There has been a lot of changes in her life, I thank God that the one change hasnt been that she has been taken away from us. This little gal has wrapped her fingers around my heart since the first time we met. It was she and I who have endured through all the trauma. We actually turned our lives upside down and returned from the big city of Cincinnati, just to be here for her. The day we moved back she was there and has been every since. After a few short months she was living with us and my mommy skills came in hand.Teaching her how to crawl, walk, talk, you name it, it was me. Daddy had her 3 weekends a month, but daily child care was ultimately left up to me. It was me who stepped in and helped/taught/nurtured/became the mother figure to her when her mother wasn't capable. I spent lots of sleepless nights through teething, we fought over what foods she would and would not eat, I rocked her until I couldn't rock her anymore. It was me who taught her how to brush her teeth, that a nice clean face and feet were essential before we climbed into bed for her bedtime story and that after lights out daily recaps were a necessary way to end the day.  Along the way we had a color of the month, and learned what words went with every day encounters. 

I have taught her that a daily dose of sunshine is necessay and in doing so we've walked a trillion miles in her stroller-just to keep her calm and happy. I wouldn't have it any other way. Honestly, I think she feels the same way. So it is only natural that when I babysit her now for her Daddy and Stepmom, that when her siblings return to school we initiated Grandma Pre-school!

To set it up you need several things:

A corner of the world to learn in, 

Her own desk, all her tools handy.

Plaster your house with learning posters, at eye level and use them every chance you get!

Provide a fun learning life skills area! 

And ample room to run, jump, swing, and burn off some of that toddler energy! 

The hardest part is getting into a routine...she used to running the schedule and being bossy.

With her classmate, Emma always close by.

She should be fine. They will learn together, side by side as they have since the beginning!

She arrived on the first day with her backpack filled and was ready to learn, for about 40 mins. We managed to finished 2 matching pages, sang our alphabet (using the actual animals instead of the letter) counted our crayons and markers, seperating them as we went. Then drew a few pictures, attempting to work on writing our name.....but, a dozen H's and just 5 little a's and she was done, so it was off to run play and build some sandcastle's! 

Things I learned from our first day-GO WITH THE FLOW! Do not be rigid in your schedule. Priovide lots of time in between each structured activity. Encourage, ENCOURAGE, ENCOURAGE!!!!! The more praise and applauding you do, the more positve results your will get. Give them a little of the teaching control. I actually told her we needed to teach Emma the months, so now we say them loud and clear to Emma everytime we climb the stairs. If we can get the order of them down, we will begin to work on the significance of each month. Don't expect miracles, baby steps are perfectly fine. Don't push them, let them guide you. If it's ipad time, help her select learning ap's and play along. Any kind of learning is learning. If their hungry, feed them and let them help. Someday this little person is going to be an adult and will need to master these skills as well.

Haleigh and I have got this! We will be soo ready for real school, that all the teachers will be shocked!