The Rachel Update

Well, I am on the ball – Row went to bed early and Adam is packing for a trip to NM, so time to get this blog on the ball!

OK, Rachel's big fall. One day after Pre-K, Tracey suggests that we pick up the kids – Rach and her son Jaime, go to the park for a walk and the kids can ride their bikes. Great idea! Babies in strollers, preschoolers on bikes and moms can yap. I love a good yap with Tracey!

A side note… I don't know why, but my kids don't like to use the brakes on their bikes. Russ would rather fall or drag his feet on the ground rather than use his brakes. Rachel won't use them, even though all she has to do is pedal backwards.

So, we are walking and talking, the weather is great; kids are doing well until Rachel starts down a small hill. Of course, as stated before, she won't use her brakes. She starts to pick up speed and is screaming. I am yelling - Pedal backwards, use your brakes, etc. I park Row in the stroller with Tracey and start to run after Rachel. Just as I am catching up to her, she is headed for a curb that surrounds the planter. In my mind, I am prepping for the blood, the ER, the dentist, huge bump/scrape on her head, whatever may come. Just as I grab on to her, she hits the curb and goes flying over her handlebars, does like a somersault over the bars and lands on her back, barely a scratch. Well, you wouldn't know this from all the screaming and tears and DRAMA. I get her calmed down, get her back on the bike for a little bit until she tells me she just wants to walk. Okay, fine. I leave her and Row with Tracey, put the bike back in the van. Before I do this, she grabs her play cell phone out of the pouch on her bike.

While I am at the van, she leans up against a light pole and "calls" grandma. Tracey heard the whole thing. Apparently the conversation went something like this:
Grandma, it's Rachel. I just fell off my bike. (Pause)

Yea, it really hurt. (Pause)

Well, I was riding and my bike went too fast down the hill, I couldn't stop and I fell off my bike. It really hurt. (Pause)

I did cry, cuz it really hurt. And I cried and cried and cried. (Pause, looks up at me walking up to her)

Ok, mom's here, I gotta go. (Pause) OK. Bye. (Flips her phone closed)

And now, she doesn't like riding her bike some 4+ months later.

 

And while I am on the subject of Rachel, let's visit the Pre-K issue. With Russ, he qualified for ESE Pre-K in both OK and FL b/c of his speech and language delays. We paid nothing, didn't have to research any preschools, he just went to the appropriate elementary school. I did have to research the elementary school in FL, but that was a bit easier in a way b/c I could pick whatever school and not have to consider the cost. Also in FL, the pre-k schools (not at elementary schools) were much more accessible than they are here. Decent costs, plenty of choices, and most were all very good. (Think good Christian women working part time b/c they love kids and the extra money!) And the other element in both OK and FL is the state sponsored voluntary Pre-K programs. Meaning the state subsidizes one year of preschool for children the year before they enter Kindergarten. You just have to attend a licensed facility that participates in the program. So, the cost for parents is a lot more reasonable. Here in Nevada there are not as many great little part time preschools, it is all mainly full day preschools/day care and no state subsidizing for the year before Kindergarten.

When we moved here over the summer, we missed all the preregistration for any preschool, except for the YMCA. Tracey had Jaime enrolled there and I wanted Rachel in something, so I enrolled her there also. I wasn't crazy about it. The times didn't work well, the 'head teacher' (who was terrific) went on a leave of absence indefinitely without any explanations from anyone and I just saw a lot of yelling at the end of the session when the head teacher wasn't there. I can yell at Rachel all I want at home for free. So, I put her on the list for a pre-k run by the city and just waited. Well, the next day I got a call and she was in, which never happens, but with the foreclosures and people moving, they have had a big turnover this year. I like it better there – the teacher is very good, lots of experience with little children, very patient, soft spoken, more mature. The curriculum is the same as the YMCA, but the times work better and the parents are so much friendlier than at the Y. There is a nice group to chat with while we wait for the kids to finish up. But, still it isn't perfect and we don't want Rachel going there next year and doing the same thing. So, we decided we are going to have to buckle down on the finances and pay for the pricier pre-K. I started the preschool hunt.

First I had to narrow down part time schools in our area, besides the two she had attended; there were like 3 or 4. I narrowed down to two based on parent recommendations from parents I have talked to at ballet, soccer, etc. One was a Co-Op preschool and was a Lutheran preschool, Lamb of God. I toured both, liked both. The Co-Op is more reasonable, but parents work two or three mornings per month, filling in as the aides, therefore saving salary costs and tuition costs for all. Well, I don't have anyone to watch Rowan for me three mornings a month, so that ruled out the Co-Op. Lamb of God it is. Rachel's pre-k in FL was called Little Lambs, so I have a good feeling about it. I felt comfortable there and I feel like Rachel will get what she needs to be prepared for Kindergarten. I was there right before 8am on the day of open registration and had walked in the office and looked at their clock, not quite 8am. I asked, "Is it close enough to 8:00 for you?" The lady at the desk laughed and said, "You bet!"

I enrolled her in 3 days a week, but had to do the afternoon class, 12:30 – 4:00pm. I figure I'll take her and get Rowan back for a nap and then I can have some Aimee time to work out, blog, do whatever I need to do. Typically I would put her in the morning class, but it was full. However, the more I think about the PM class, the more I like it. I tend run errands in the morning and I can do that with Rachel and Rowan. She helps entertain him and me as we run around. She starts in September, has to wear a uniform (that will be an adventure, as Rachel loves her dresses and the color yellow!! A worthy future blog for sure), and I think it will be a good experience for her.