I stuck around the classroom for a few minutes to make sure she got settled in, and take a few pictures of her coloring at her table and sitting down for circle time.
Unfortunately, she hated it. When I picked her up in the afternoon she couldn't stop crying. The program requires parents to pay for food, but Keira didn't like any of the food she was given, so she basically didn't eat all day. Then, at nap time, they don't allow the kids to bring stuffed animals from home, and they can not bring anything to their rest mats. At home, Keira hadn't been taking a nap for about six months (she slept much better at night without it.) So, basically with nothing to do, and very firm instructions that she MAY NOT move or make noise she cried herself to sleep. :(
I think the bottom line was that she wasn't ready for such a big step. As I said before, the CDC only runs three days a week for three hours a day, and they are VERY flexible and accommodating, basically the polar opposite of Pre-K. The true fallout of the attempt at Pre-K was that it sent Keira into a completely different direction with preschool in general. She didn't even want to go back to the CDC. She did go back. Scott and I still wanted her to do something before Kindergarten, but she cried every day (often several times a day) at preschool, through all of fall and winter. On the other hand, before trying Pre-K she hadn't shed a single tear, and seemed to be confused as to why other kids were crying. She did finally start liking preschool again, but it took a long, long time to get the Pre-K debacle out of her system. What a bummer.
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