A couple weeks ago, we had a guest speaker come to our club’s General Meeting to talk about Kindergarten Readiness. It’s part of a two-part series we offer our members every year. The second part is on Preschool readiness. One of these sessions includes a professional speaker from Parents Place and the other is a panel of parents from the club sharing their own perspectives and knowledge. For the first time this year, we had a professional speaker for the Kindergarten session and a panel of parents for the Preschool topic (switched from last year).

The Kindergarten session was not only eye-opening, it was somewhat of a relief. The speaker focused on the fact that the greatest preparation we could give our kids for Kindergarten is to make sure they attain the self-regulation (e.g., pays attention, controls impulses, follows directions), social expression (e.g., curiosity for learning, tells stories, social play) and self-help/motor skills to be successful at the Kindergarten level. School programs focus on the academics, so a Kindergarten teacher is confident a child can and will learn the academics.

Attaining the necessary social skills is of particular concern for parents of multiples, especially those with boy/girl twins. Often, the girls are more settled down than the boys at 3 and 4 years old. Do you split them up? Do you keep them both back? What are the ramifications on later development?

The Preschool session with a panel of parents representing different kinds of schools (e.g., parent participation, structured/academic, traditional/developmental, Montessori, religious, Explorer) demonstrated that there are several ways to attain the social, self-control and motor skills necessary. My girls were in a traditional/developmental school for a year and are now in a structured/academic one. Our motivation for moving our twins to a more structured program was our girls. They were displaying such a curiosity and desire to learn many things. We wanted to channel that desire to learn by putting them in a preschool environment that exposes them to many different areas be it math, art, dance, science, imaginative play and the like. Just as importantly, they had settled down tremendously over the last year – sitting in circle time, following directions, paying attention to the teachers, focusing on a project to completion, expressing their likes and dislikes in an acceptable, non-violent (whew!) way. Their new school presents many things that I would never have thought they could understand or handle at 3 years old…but they do. And they are both blossoming.

One of the questions I had when considering the potential preschools was whether there were other twins or multiples in the classrooms. If so, this gave me a small sense of relief that the teachers would not assume that the girls were alike. Additionally, they knew to split them up at circle time to give one twin more of a chance to work on her own without her sister “helping.” One of my girls is more outspoken and assertive than the other but also more emotionally dependent on her twin. The other is rather laid back and cautious but will quickly stand up for her twin if she thinks she’s being threatened in any way.

With twins, it’s difficult not to compare their development and achievement of certain goals. One twin typically catches on to certain activities or concepts faster than the other. The other is usually only about 3-4 weeks behind. So, the differences are usually not great. But I worry anyway. It’s hard not to. But now, with the enlightenment from the Kindergarten readiness session, I am no longer concerned. In my mind, for preschool, Kindergarten is the end game. So what if one of my girls is not writing her name perfectly every time – at 3 years old. She’s going to “get it.” They’re both going to “get” many things and now I know, much earlier than they really have to. And I am reassured.

This is a repost of an original post to Mad About Multiples from 2008. Don't forget to join us tonight, Jan 10, 2013, at 7 PM in the Cambrian Library Community Room located at 1780 Hillsdale Ave, San Jose, CA 95124 for a panel discussion on kindergarten options.

By Valerie Terry

Hey! There's an awesome giveaway at the end of this post being offered up by Dishcrawl! Leave a comment to win.

I consider myself a lover of food, but when I think to the last actual new restaurant I tried, I feel like someone is going to yank my foodie street cred. We've come to the point where it's not so easy to just go out and try something new. The girls are now at an age where they have opinions. They have likes, dislikes, and it's really bad form to pack them a separate dinner in a cooler so hubby and I can eat where we want.

 

Kids aside, there are other reasons we avoid trying new places: There have been the dirty looks by other patrons as we troop in. The serving of adult meals first, so our food gets cold as we arrange the kids food when it finally arrives. Or the serving of kids meals too soon so they are done by the time the grown-up food arrives. The melt down as we wait. and wait. and wait. for a check to arrive. The awful food some popular restaurants serve to the littlest customers. I could go on, but you get the point, it's hard to try something new when you've got a gaggle a kids tagging along.

I know we could devote more of our precious date-nights to grown-up eating, but the thing is, I like to eat out with my kids. I like them to try foods I don't often make at home. They have a budding taste for sushi. There are favorites at the Indian restaurant. Pad Thai is a winner every time. So we keep going back to the handful of safe tried-and-true restaurants in our repertoire.

But to a woman like me who wants to know what's new and exciting, it gets, well, old.

Especially when I hear about amazing food happenings just around the corner from me in downtown San Jose. I have yet to explore the new San Pedro square. So what I want for Mother's Day is a way to get out, try something new and share it with my budding-foodie (but still normal-kid picky) girls.

Impossible? I thought it was until now. Our friends at Dishcrawl have teamed up with Food Social to offer an event that will allow me a chance to try out 10 restaurants downtown. Unlike a traditional Dishcrawl (remember that awesome Mom's Summer Party) this will be a self-guided Dishwalk-- a tour-du-food featuring nibbles at spots in the San Pedro square area. There will also be acoustic musical performances along the route. And, it's being held in the afternoon. Perfect for a leisurely stroll with my girls. I can even pack them snacks, and then offer them bites without feeling like I'm breaking the rules. We can stretch our legs and dance to the music while not worrying about the check. And no one will sigh that their kid-free meal is being taken over by my family of five seated next to them.

It sounds like heaven. And a great chance to see what new places we can put onto our favorites list.

Because the folks at Dishcrawl love us mamas, they have offered 2 free tickets to the May 12 event. Tickets are geared toward adults with one select dish being offered at each restaurant. I've been told each portion would be enough to share with a wee-one, but older (9 and up) kids might like their own. Drink specials will be offered on a cash basis at participating restaurants. Details, including restaurants involved, can be found here: Dishcrawl.com

Leave a comment about the last time you tried a new restaurant and you could be our randomly chosen winner to explore downtown at your own pace, eating along the way. The giveaway closes on Wednesday, May 9 at 12pm. Winner will be notified by email.

If you're not our winner, never fear! Purchase tickets through Dishcrawl and use this code: "welovemommas"

and your ticket will be just $25 (vs. the regular $29 pre-purchase or $39 day-of ticket price)

Happy dishing!

 

And the fine print: Dishcrawl does love mommas, and provided the tickets being given away on Mad About Multiples. I was not compensated in any other way. The discount code can be used by anyone--so spread the word and join the fun. Details about the Dishwalk can be found on Dishcrawl.com.