Back to School Night

Tonight I went to Back to School Night at Princess' preschool. I couldn't figure out why exactly the Preschool needed to have back to School Night since I am at the school two times a day for pick-up and drop-off.

As I assume you know, I can't just drop Princess in the parking lot each morning, give her a kiss good-bye and tell her to have a nice day and eat all her lunch. Nope, I have to get out of the car (looking hideous since I haven't showered yet, I might add), get Pirate out of his car seat, get Princess out of her car seat, put Princess' jacket on because she refuses to wear it while sitting in her car seat (it sucks big-time for me when it is pouring rain outside - she takes no mercy on me!). Then I have to gather lunchbox, kids and any misc. items and walk into preschool and directly into the classroom, along the way greeting all the teachers and other parents. Oh.. and I don't dare put Pirate down because he will take off on me and get comfortable in some classroom and then I have one screaming child who wants to stay and can't.

I follow the same routine in the afternoon. The only difference is that I have showered and put some type of coordinated outfit on (my summer uniform: double layer of tank tops and knee-high shorts & flip flops) I swear parents who see me in the AM and then in the PM, don't know I am the same person. Typically, the afternoon pickup take three times as long because all the preschool kids want to 'high-five' me and the teachers get chatty with me. Typically, I end up having to put Pirate down and he takes off to play in one of the classrooms and then Princess and I have to peel him away from some play kitchen or train table.

Tonight I went to Back to School night very curious as to what I would learn or see that I already don't know or don't see on a twice-daily basis. Dear Husband backed out on me at the last minute, using the excuse that it would be easier if Pirate stayed home. He also didn't get the concept of the event and wasn't one bit curious. It was important to me to go, no matter what. I have made a promise to myself that I will be as involved and interested in the kids' school, as humanly possible. My mom didn't make much of an effort in that regard when I was a kid. She worked in San Francisco and used the excuse that she was too tired after work to go. It really sucked as a kid to have to tag along with the next-door neighbors to Open House. I will not do that to Princess and Pirate.

So Princess and I headed to school this evening and got there a few minutes early. I was shocked to see that most parents were already there. It was a packed house. Maybe they were as curious as me or had also made a commitment as a parent to be involved every step of the way.

It was a nice evening. We learned about the policies, the two upcoming field trips, the swine-flu issue and precautions (I am sure that will be a future blog for me) from the Owner and then we met within the classroom with the teacher and parents of the kids in the class. It wasn't a waste of time and it was nice to know that all the parents cared enough to come. Princess thought it was sooo cool that we were at the school in the evening. I can also see the point now. The Owner and Director had the opportunity to pull all the parents together and facilitate a group meeting with the parents, outlining all that was expected from us as parents. We can't say that they didn't tell us or warn us, when an issue does arise.