Proud mama passing along tips & tools for other new mamas and sharing loads of free resources I'm creating along the way.
Hey Mamas - Prepping for Preschool
Hey mamas!
I'm coming to you this month from yet another destination. We’re posting up in Lake Arrowhead about 1.5 hours outside of Los Angeles for all of August. Let’s just say our Southern California souls haven’t adapted to the triple degree temps Austin Summers relentlessly deliver. We had to escape!
At this point Libby is growing into a semi-pro traveler (frequent flyer mile account and all!). She did amazing on the flights and settled right into the new time zone. If you also have Summer travel plans, make sure to check out the archive where you’ll find two newsletters dedicated to tips for traveling with a baby. This month though, we’re going to dive into another topic - schools.
Since arriving at Lake Arrowhead it seems the topic of “school” has come up almost every day. Our local friends have their older kids visiting until school begins in a few weeks. The lake is extra crowded because it’s the last hurrah until school starts. Will our daughter be starting school this year, strangers in the grocery ask. It’s August so it’s a hot topic, I get it.
Admittedly this is territory I am still extremely green about. We’ve only begun to dip our toes in the educational waters so I also have much to learn here. That said, the point of this newsletter is to share the tips & tools I’m picking up along the journey so we can walk through this motherhood thing together.
If you have more to add on this topic I would love for you to hit “reply” and let me know what to share in an upcoming newsletter. For now, I’m happy to pass along the few things I’ve found to be extremely helpful thus far.
DAY CARE / SCHOOL COMPARISON SHEET
Mere months after Libby was born I was enlightened to the fact that I was behind on getting her on the waitlist for pre-schools. BEHIND at 6 months old. I’m guessing more than a few of you have been told the same. Despite the fact that the alarm was likely unnecessarily sounded, the memo was heard. I kicked it into high gear and began the search for the best schools.
This process looked like a) compiling a list of the top preschools and kindergartens in our area b) signing up for the school tours c) handing in applications and small fees to secure a coveted spot on these waitlists.
As you can imagine, it can be very easy to start to blur these schools and tours together. This is where a friend’s organization became a lifeline. She passed along a spreadsheet to fill out with the information gathered about each school.
I can’t take full credit for this one but I am so happy to be able to pass it along for more mamas to use!
>> ACCESS THE SPREADSHEET HERE
DAY CARE / PRESCHOOL PACKING LIST
At this point Libby isn’t yet enrolled in a school. We have, however, completed more than our fair share of tours. Through those, and my own Googling, I’ve started to get a sense for what she’ll need when the day comes. To prep for that forthcoming day, I’ve created a checklist to aid with the shopping. If you’re an experienced mama please let me know what I’m missing! For the newbies, hopefully this gives you a sense for what you can add to your next Amazon order.
>> CLICK HERE TO GET THE CHECKLIST
Amazon Shop
To accompany the checklist I’ve also curated an Amazon shop so you can easily “add to cart” without having to think too much about it!
NEED TO KNOW CARD
The last thing I’ll leave you with is an editable card you can put in your little one’s bag. Use this card to write down any need-to-know information in case of an emergency. Yes, the school should have this information on hand but you never know. It’s 4 x 6 if you print it out and you can fold and tuck it into one of their tiny pockets. Better to be safe, right?
Missed previous newsletters? You can find the archive here.
- November (nanny jds, checklists, photography, books)
- December (travel tips part 1)
- January (travel tips part 2)
- February (3rd trimester & postpartum)
- March (all things naps)
- April (babysitters)
- May (pool safety)
- June (postpartum fitness)
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Got a tip / tool / document you want to share? Email me and I’ll loop it into a future newsletter.
Thanks mamas!
Jen
Jen Miller
Proud mama passing along tips & tools for other new mamas and sharing loads of free resources I'm creating along the way.
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