Kanyon was in half-day Kindergarten this year. He went in the mornings, because that was better for my schedule to pick him up and drop him off. Since he wasn't in school all day, he needed to be babysat every afternoon. Last fall, he went to a daycare after school a few days a week. In the winter, Josh took care of him every day after school. This spring beginning the middle of March, he went to another daycare two afternoons a week.
We were so lucky that Miss Shanda had a spot available for him to go to her Precious Cargo learning center this spring. He has sensitive hearing, and doesn't like being in environments with crying, fussy babies, and since Miss Shanda's preschool is only for kids 3 and up, he was very happy to play with kids who were close to his age. There were 2 other girls from his kindergarten class who also attended daycare there at the same time, so when he started going, he was happy that he already felt like he had friends there. She has an awesome fenced-in backyard with lots of activities that Kanyon just loved. It was mostly good, sunny weather the days he attended in April and May, so he got to play outside a lot.
His favorite part outside was her chickens. Miss Shanda has lots of chickens, and the first couple weeks, he loved sitting by the chicken coop waiting for one of them to lay an egg so that he could go in and retrieve it and wash it off. One afternoon he brought home a dozen eggs that her chickens had laid, and he insisted that we go to the store right then and buy chicken & rooster cookie cutters so that we could make chicken cookies using the chicken eggs!
He sincerely loves animals, and it worked out so wonderfully that she had such fun animals in the outdoor space! He enjoyed feeding and taking care of the chickens--the last week he was there, she let the "golden girls" roam around, and he liked feeding them their chicken food.
He made several new friends at Miss Shanda's, and the boy he got along with the best and loved playing with the most was Thomas, who is just one year younger than him. He liked riding on the trikes, and playing with trucks, and digging with Thomas. One afternoon when I came to pick him up, this group of boys were playing so contentedly outside in the corner with their trucks that Kanyon didn't even notice that I'd arrived. Usually, as soon as I'd arrive, he'd head straight out to the car as I talked with Miss Shanda, and sometimes I didn't even notice that he'd left and I'd go looking for him! He loved that game!
He was happy the days he got to go to Miss Shanda's, which was such a huge blessing for both him and me! Even though it was an excellent opportunity for him to attend Precious Cargo, and I'm so grateful that he could, I'm looking forward to full days of school for him from now on!
Ever since I began my job of teaching music at the school, he's had half-days of school either at the preschool he attended or at Kindergarten, so I've always had to pay for half-days of daycare. And since he's my youngest, that means the days of paying others to take care of my children will finally be over. Next fall will be the first time in 12 years that I've worked outside the home that I won't have a daycare bill to pay for!
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