Why Exactly Does My Child Need to Transition to Preschool?

Michael, my three and a half year old, starts preschool this week.  Kind of.  The preschool he is going to has a "transition plan."  And although some moms are sad when their kids start school, I'm just annoyed.

What exactly is a "transition plan?"  I work 20 hours a week and my son has been in daycare 3 days a week since he was 5 months old.  I understand that this is not true of all children, but the "transition plan" is wreaking havoc on my work schedule.  I will basically not be at work for two weeks while he is "transitioning."  And since I was on vacation last week, that's three weeks gone.

It starts this week with two days of "meet and greets" one hour each.  Um, an hour doesn't give me much time to do anything except drop him off, grab coffee, and pick him up.  And then I have to go to to these meet the teacher things for 15 minutes each.  And then there is the mandatory parent orientation without childcare.  And two back to school nights, also without childcare.

Next week the actual school starts, but for the first week there is no before or after care.  So Michael is in school for a total of 3 hours for 4 mornings.  Oh yeah, I'm totally getting a lot done in that period of time.

I'm not trying to complain, I really like the school we picked.  And it's not one of those hoighty toighty we promise to get your child into Harvard preschools.  It's a small, friendly, play based school that places a lot of emphasis on your child's adjustment.  And that's great.

Except, I really don't think pre school is set up for working parents.  Between the "transition plan" and the school calendar which includes more days off then they are actually in school, I'm just not sure how I'm fitting in working in my "transition plan."

Original DC Metro Moms post.  Jodi blogs at jodifur about being a wife, mother, attorney, and everything in between.