• About
  • Reviews
  • Food & Recipes
  • Mom Life
  • Fashion & Beauty
  • Tips & Tricks
  • PR/Contact
    • View madetomommy’s profile on Facebook
    • View madetomommy’s profile on Twitter
    • View madetomommy’s profile on Instagram

Made To Mommy

Documenting my millennial mom life

Mom Truth Monday: Preschool is Hard

Photo by Bernard Hermant on Unsplash

I wanted to start a new series called Mom Truth Monday and talk about things that we deal with as moms (or dads!) that can be tricky, hard, humbling and more.

Remember when I was excited that Jadyn was starting preschool a few weeks ago? Well, three weeks into the school year and I have come to the realization that preschool is hard. Like really hard. More for me than for her, I think.

I’ll be the first to admit that right after her first official day, I walked down the steps to the café by her school, opened up my laptop to start my work day, all while silently crying to myself like that mom. I had to be strong in front of my kid. I didn’t want to cry in front of Jadyn because that would make her really upset and have her transition into preschool life be that much harder. She’d also likely cry with me.

Let me back up here for a brief moment.

Thinking about my daughter as a little person instead of the baby she was not too long ago, my husband and I came to the conclusion that we’d be doing her a huge disservice by not enrolling her in some sort of program before the age of two. She’s such a social butterfly outside of the house; she loves playing with kids, going on adventures, being outside and just loves living life. We decided to enroll her in the local JCC Preschool program, which caters to development versus a curriculum (although, they have a curriculum they do follow pretty loosely).

Jadyn is one of the youngest in her class–she’s only 20 months. This whole transition thing is really hard on her, especially since she’s in a “mommy, mommy, mommy!” stage and separation anxiety is real. Since I have been with her every second of every day (perks of working from home for Red Tricycle), I knew this would be hard, but I didn’t know how often my heartstrings would be pulled every drop off.

While I don’t really believe in astrology, I do think it provides a good sense of personality traits–at least from what I can observe about myself, my daughter and my husband. My daughter is pretty spot on with her Capricorn traits:

  • She’s persistent
  • Not comfortable with drastic change (read: sensitive)
  • Practical (I mean, she’s a toddler so how true is this right now, amiright?)
  • Disciplined

Preschool is a drastic change for her and others her age. Think about it: these little humans don’t have the robust vocabulary or the ability to form thoughtful sentences to articulate what they want. The “bye-bye mama” or “no, no” sentences we get is all 20-month-old toddlers can really form. Unless your little has been in daycare since early babyhood (more power to ya, if so!), then this is total chaos for their brains.

One thing that’s really helped us has been sticking to a morning routine during preschool drop offs. Here’s how our morning goes:

  1. Wake up, have breakfast, get ready and we’re in the car by 8:50 a.m. since preschool starts at 9 a.m. Luckily, the preschool is a 5 minute drive from our home.
  2. On the way to school, I always ask who Jadyn is going to see that day and mention some of her classmates. I always make sure to mention her teachers, as well.
  3. Once we arrive, we walk into the lobby area and say good morning to the fish in the fish tank for about two minutes, then head to her classroom.
  4. Upon entering Jadyn’s classroom we say good morning to her teachers and the kids who are already there, put her lunchbox in her cubby and I always ask her where she washes her hands. After we wash our hands, I let Jadyn either pick out two books for me to read to her or we do a puzzle. Once those books are read or puzzle is completed, I always say “okay, mommy has to go to work now, but she’ll be back right after lunch! I love you.”
  5. This is when the separation anxiety kicks right back in for my little and where I struggle to actually leave. A few times over the last three weeks I’ve had to hand my crying child to her teacher and head out the door. Not my favorite thing.

While I know the tears are only short-term (at least I hope they are), I know this is a drastic change for Jadyn. I have no doubt that within a couple more weeks, she’ll be fine and really excited to go to school and see her friends. Still though, this whole process doesn’t make it easier.

How’d you cope with sending your mini off to preschool? Leave a comment below.

Leave a Comment

Preschool Back-to-School Essentials

Can you believe it? Jadyn is heading off to preschool on Wednesday! My little baby isn’t much of a baby anymore. She’s a full-blown toddler with her own amazing personality. She absolutely loves being around other kids her age, so I’d be doing her a huge disservice by not enrolling her in preschool until next year.

As you all know I work for Red Tricycle full-time, which means I’m “in-the-know” for a lot back to school tips, tricks, ideas, traditions and more. That means I’ve taken all those great resources for back to school and modified them for a preschooler. While Jadyn will be going three days a week for half days, there are still things she needs. Here’s my list of back-to-school essentials.

Personalized Cup

This is a must. If you read my blog, I’m sure you also follow Tara Henderson on YouTube or Instagram, so when she posted these glitterific tumblers for her girls, I had to dig deeper and see who made them. Barbwire & Lace by B&C Creations on Etsy did! I placed an order for Jadyn’s tumbler (and let’s face it, my own, too) and the result is perfect. I mean, how can you not love this mommy & me combo! You can also check out my latest “Reviews” highlights on Instagram to see the unboxing. The lighting doesn’t do it justice!

Barbwire & Lace was kind enough to give my Made To Mommy readers a discount code! Use code LEIGH10 at checkout to save 10% on your order!

Bento Lunchbox

photo courtesy of Amazon.com

This is an absolute essential, especially if your toddler hates having food touch. Jadyn isn’t that picky, but still. The compartments of a bento lunchbox makes things easy. We opted for the Yumbox Original Leakproof Bento Lunchbox for Kids in Hollywood Pink. I love how each section is labeled with a food group to help moms and dads pack the right stuff for lunch.

New Backpack

Let’s be real here; Jadyn won’t be bringing any homework home these first few years of preschool, but she does need something to carry her lunchbox in! Pottery Barn Kids was my go-to site for this. Their backpack selection is on point and so are the colors they have available. We opted for the Mackenzie Aqua Lavender Pretty Butterflies backpack in the size mini. Jadyn is absolutely obsessed with butterflies and it’s clear that her favorite color is purple since everything is “puh-ple.” Pottery Barn Kids has the option of customizing the backpack, but since she’s little and is growing so fast I opted not to customize this one. Maybe I will when she’s in kindergarten and I get one that’ll last her through first or second grade. We’ve got some time.

New Outfit

photo courtesy of Carters.com

This is a given for any age: a back-to-school outfit! Jadyn has tons of clothes, but I’ll likely be sending her off in this outfit from Carter’s. Who doesn’t love a “caticorn” and comfy leggings for playtime?

Felt Letter Board

While I love these for quotes, I’ve been seeing a lot of moms and dads documenting first days of school on a felt letter board. I found this one on Amazon for fairly cheap as you have black and white letters with some script and emojis, too. While Jadyn doesn’t start till Wednesday, I still prepped the board for pictures. One less thing I have to do, right?

Do you have a toddler in preschool? I’d love to know how you prepped for back to school! Let me know in the comments below.

Leave a Comment

Hello!

Hello!

Thank you for visiting Made To Mommy. My name is Leigh and I am so excited to share my experiences with you! Head to my ABOUT section on the site to learn more about me.

PR/CONTACT

For collaborations, reviews, sponsored posts and business inquiries, contact Leigh at madetomommy@gmail.com

Follow on Social

  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Facebook

Blogroll

  • Blush & Lipstick
  • Cupcakes & Cashmere
  • Red Tricycle

Categories

  • Fashion & Beauty
  • Food & Recipes
  • Mom Life
  • Mom Truth Monday
  • Reviews
  • Tips & Tricks

Follow Made To Mommy

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 147 other subscribers

Tags

9 monts pregnant 12-weeks pregnant 19-weeks scan 28-weeks 39 weeks pregnant 40 weeks pregnant 2017 abc kids expo 2020 abc kids expo accessories active labor airplane allergens amazon amazon prime amazon prime books amazon subscribe & save anatomy scan aquarium arms reach co sleeper babies baby baby's first birthday baby accessories baby blankets baby books baby bottles baby bows babycenter babycenter app baby eating baby essentials baby fashion baby food baby gear baby girl baby must-haves baby nursery baby nursery furniture baby prep baby products baby proofing baby ready baby safety baby shower baby shower decor baby shower fun baby shower invites baby sleepers baby time baby ultrasounds back-to-school essentials back to school barbwire & lace basic invite beaba beaba babycook beaba silicone spoons beauty blogger bedside bassinet benefit cosmetics bento lunchbox besties bink modern safety birthday decor birthday party decor birthing ball birthing class blanket buddies blush pink and gold blush pink decor board books books bookworm bottle feeding bottles bows breakfast muffins breastfeeding breast milk breast milk bottles breast milk storage bubbly cal academy cal academy of sciences california academy of sciences champagne childbirth class co-sleeper co-sleeping coffee coffee addict colourpop cosmetics comotomo bottles contractions coverfx curated nest decorations delivery developmental stages dilated divorce divorced dockatot dockatot deluxe dockatot grand dreft early labor early reader easy makeup easy makeup routine easy meals education epidural etsy etsy seller etsy store family day family fun family time family travel family vacation fashion fashionably pregnant felt letter board first birthday first birthday decor first birthday party first trimester first trimester ultrasound fish food food blogger food for babies foodie formula babies formula feeding fruits gender of baby girl nursery girl time gloria ferrer vineyards gold decor grocery shopping hair accessories hair loss happy baby infant formula healthy baby healthy eating healthy pregnancy healthy recipe hellofresh hello fresh hny baby hotel co-sleeping imagine dragons imperfect produce ingrid & isabel inspired start interior design introducing solids to babies isabel maternity jade bow jeggings kaiser permanente khalid kids fashion labor labor and delivery labor and delivery story labor music letter to working moms life moments life with baby little kidney bean loss lucy belly designs lulujo baby luxury leather bows made to mommy magnolia sweet things makeup makeup during pregnancy make up for ever maternity maternity clothes maternity fashion maternity pants meal tip and tricks me time millennail mom millennialmama millennial mama millennial mom millennial mom blogger millennial mom life millennial moms mom blog mom blogger mom guilt mom hack mom hacks mom life mom moment mommy and me mommy blogger mommy to be mompreneur mom tips mom tricks mom truth mom truth monday money saving tips money tips muffin recipe museums music music during labor muslin blankets nanobebe new baby new baby products newborn newborn must-haves new mom new mom cooks new mom life newmomlife new mom must-haves new year new years baby nursery nursery furniture one month countdown outdoor activities pampers diapers parent hacks party decorations picky eater picky eater recipe pink and gold pitocin playlist postpartum pottery barn kids pregnancy pregnancy classes pregnancy do's and don'ts pregnancy doctors appointments pregnancy tips pregnancy trips pregnancy update pregnant preparing for childbirth preschool preschooler preschool is hard prime book box for kids produce products pumping purees for babies reading recipe red tricycle review roadtrip room decor rose all day routines rtnanobebe safe co-sleeping safe sleeping san francisco saving money school tips second trimester separated separation silver cross sleep deprivation slide splash pad starting preschool starting solids stationery stress free makeup subscription meal services summer fun summer hacks sunday funday swaddles target maternity tarte cosmetics thunder time capsule tips and tricks toddler breakfast ideas toddler hacks toddlerhood toddler life toddler travel too faced cosmetics transitions travel traveling abroad traveling with baby travel tips travel tricks twonager ubbi ubbiworld ultrasounds uppababy vacation vegetables water fun water wipes wedding decor wedding invites what to expect what to expect when you're expecting wine country working mom wubbanub young dumb & broke

Copyright © 2023 Made To Mommy. Theme by Pish and Posh Designs.

 

Loading Comments...