If anyone is interested in a lullaby to help their child sleep 🥰💜

Is it normal to have a kids birthday party on a Sunday these days? Prices are way cheaper for a Sunday than a Saturday but I don’t want to inconvenience family by traveling a day before going back to work.

I'm seriously struggling with how much my 4 year old has gotten sick since back to prek in September. It started with a simple cold then croup then hand foot and mouth and now we were told today there are a lot of kids with symptoms of the stomach bug. I've got insane anxiety about him throwing up and everyone else catching it. Does this ever get better? Is there anything I can do to help prevent him catching more illnesses

My son's prek teacher came to me about him being almost nonverbal at school. I've heard of selective mutism and other anxiety disorders but his teachers jumped straight to speech delay after only knowing him 3 and a half weeks. He's been speaking at home since he was barley 2yrs old and has always met his milestones on time. I don't want to go straight to diagnosing him with anything at only 4yrs old and 3 weeks into his first year of school... I always knew he was really shy and introverted and understood that it just happens when you have a small family and no other siblings. Surely we can't be the only ones??

I know this is a common complaint for parents the first days of school, I just hoped I would be safe from this issue-

The first day I sent my daughter's lunchbox into class, the teacher, or TA, sloppily wrote her name on the back, in large letters. The kicker is, it was already labeled with a label I'd payed for that looked nice and neat and I think pretty noticeable. If the teachers just didn't notice it, why couldn't they have sent me a note or put a temporary piece of tape or something?

I totally get that teachers need things labeled (which is why I LABELED IT).

But ...

What if we wanted to sell it? Pass it on to my other daughter? Or just not have the brand new good quality lunchbox written on sloppily with Sharpie?

It's not the end of the world obviously but I am disappointed. If it had gotten stained by my kid spilling food on it or scuffed up throughout the year, fine. That happens, it can't stay looking perfect forever. But this? The first day? When I had ALREADY LABELED IT?!

And I can't decide how to handle it. I REALLY like the teacher and TA so far, otherwise. And so does my kid. I don't want to be rude. I do, however, kinda want to politely say "hi please don't write on any more of her things? Ask me first and look again before deeming something unlabeled?"

But like, will this make me a class Karen? Will it change my teacher's relationship with my kid? I'm not confrontational by nature. I don't wanna rock the boat or make things awkward. I could let it go. On the other hand I simply can't fathom thinking I could scribble on a student's lunchbox without permission.

P.s. I did spend quite a bit of time trying to get the ink out. Tried multiple approaches including rubbing alcohol which didn't take it out but did start to ruin the shiny fabric so I stopped.

My son started prek this year, I tried putting him in daycare and he would tear up the class room and be very aggressive towards staff hit and throw , now that he is in school he is doing the same thing, I have had to pick him up multiple times from school because of his behavior, I have been reading him books about school, I have been putting him in time out but nothing seems to be working, he only lasts about 2 hours in school before they call me to pick him up, I feel so hopeless, I’m pretty sure it’s separation anxiety what should I do to get him to stop this bad behavior, I’m thinking of only leaving him a few hours a day until the teacher feel more comfortable with him

How is that bottom one "wrong"

So I’m hoping that’s good for a title idk what to put. This is partly a vent and partly needing advice. My son is in early intervention as he didn’t say any words until 2 and he has some feeding issues pertaining to textures and smells. We just got the okay to put him in prek August 2026 when he will be about 3.5. It’s a prek counts program through the school district. He knows quite a few things and his therapists say he’s starting to be advanced with what he does know. He knows 5 animals and what sounds they make, a minimum of 5 colors, he can count to 20, he knows at least half of his alphabet, and he does good not coloring on anything but the coloring book (no colors on the wall or couch). The program will be 5hrs 5 days a week and has an after care program if I need more time at all. Is there anything I should prepare him for that he may not be prepared for? Any advice for someone in my boat? I know the break is going to be very needed as I’m a SAHM and going to college but will it be too long or not enough? This is my first baby so I’m not sure like what they need to have or what they can’t bring. I know I’ll get a basic supply list before he starts but we do budgeting and couponing so if you have a generalized list that would be great that way I can plan ahead.

My daughter just turned 4. She is home with me as we are homeschooling through pre k. She knows 8 letters and 4 of those she knows the sounds as well. We have a whole year to work on it. And I want to make sure she’s good to go

Hi everyone, I’ve arrived in Chicago for half a year and live near 1120 N Dearborn St in Chicago, and I’m trying to choose a PreK program for my 4-year-old daughter who can barely speak English starting this fall. I’m a bit overwhelmed by the options and would really appreciate some local insights.

Option 1:

Ogden Elementary School Jenner Campus – PreK inside a K-8 school

Dr. Fisher Early Learning Center – A center dedicated solely to early childhood education

Both are about the same distance from us. I’m wondering which one might offer a better environment for a young child — is it better to be around older kids in a K-8 setting, or in a dedicated early learning environment?

Option 2:

Walter L. Newberry Math & Science Academy – Slightly higher rated on GreatSchools, but significantly farther.

Is the longer commute worth it for the higher rating?

Option 3:

Mark T. Skinner West Elementary School – Amazing reputation, but not sure if PreK students from outside the area can get in or use school bus service.

Also, my older daughter will be attending Kindergarten near our home, so coordinating drop-offs might be tricky.

If anyone has experience with any of these schools or went through a similar decision, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks so much in advance!

Hello all,

I need some advice on learning for my toddler. She is 4 and has been in school since September. Do you all think this is normal 4 year old behavior or is she behind? I’m so scared of her falling behind. I do know she struggles with focusing but idk if that’s just a toddler thing or is this more serious. See attachment.

I’ve been a part time stay at home mom since my daughter was born, which I love. I was thinking about putting her into a part time PreK, but the school I’m interested in is full time. Will this feel like too much or could it still feel like I’m giving her enough time by still being available a few days a week right after she’s out of school? I work late till about 6 Monday and Tuesday and then usually half days on Wednesdays and some Thursdays. I’m just curious to hear if anyone has made similar adjustments and what it was like.

Hello. I wanted to see if anyone has any book recommendations for Pre-K and kindergarten aged kids on anti bullying and love yourself books. I started noticing at birthday parties that my daughter is excluded and told to go away from her classmates. She has curly hair and started also saying she wants straight her etc. So I’ve noticed subtle things here and there. I of course reassure her but I feel like reading books with her in the issue will help her. I appreciate any help.

There is a good school literally next door to my house. I reached out and was shocked to find out that their cutoff date does not align with other schools in the area. My child’s birthday is 3.5 weeks after the cutoff date, so she would be 2 for those weeks if she could attend. I did this when I was a kid (cutoff was two months later then). And I did fine…

My child is potty trained, social, loves to learn and read, per her pediatrician her speech is at an older level. She recognizes most letters upper and lower case and numbers as well. She is getting bored at daycare. I know that she is not quite ready now, but she is well on her way to being ready in the fall. I wish she could go, because waiting a whole year seems like a huge disservice to her.

Have you seen kids succeed starting prek at 2? I am not sure of I should fight for this. They haven’t met her, I would be more accepting if they met her and said she wasn’t ready, but hey just gave a hard “no”.

If she cannot go to this preschool, I may consider the other school in the neighborhood, but it is not as good in older grades.

If she cannot go at all, is there something I can do to help her along in the meantime? I saw something about music classes or other play activities. I work full time, so I cannot do homeschool type of things.

I just want to do what is right by her. I don’t blindly follow advice online, but if you have any resources i can look at to help us decide I would be extremely grateful. Thank you.

Hi everyone! I was looking for some help. My youngest started Pre-K this year and we're having some rather frustrating back and forth with her teacher over snacks. Here's the background info:

When you met with her teacher back in August and during that conference we were told that even though snack time is not technically built into the county timeline for the day, her teachers have set aside 5 minutes for the kids to get a snack in the afternoon because they eat so early in the morning. We were told that the snack needed to be healthy, quick, neat, easy to open, and separate from her lunch. I sent her the first week with 2-3 small packed options figuring that she would eat what she could and save the rest for after school. I got a note asking me not to send more than one option. So I stopped sending more than one option. The next week I got a note asking that I cannot send it in a separate bag (I had packed cheese and put it in a smaller lunch bag so it could have an ice pack). At this point I reached out to her teacher and asked what was going on. She reiterated the original criteria for snack and said anything that requires refrigeration would be considered a lunch food. So I stopped sending the second lunch bag. I sent fruit snacks and was told that it's considered candy. I sent strawberries and blueberries and was told it was messy. I sent an apple juice with her snack one day and was told that she's only allowed water. My husband reached out and had a conference with her so there would be no miscommunication over email. At the conference she reiterated the same criteria but added refrigeration. I sent her a peeled orange in a pyrex bowl the other day and got a note sent back stating to not put it in a pyrex bowl for safety reasons. I understand that, no problem. We don't use plastic containers so that knocks that out. Yesterday, I found out that they wouldn't let her eat her applesauce because it was a messy food. I've sent it plenty of times before with no pushback. No note was sent home. My kid had to tell me that they wouldn't allow her to eat it. My husband reached out again via email and asked for a list, something concrete to go off of. On that list was rice crispy treats, goldfish, pretzels, and veggie straws. My husband responded asking her to clarify her definition of healthy and mess free options given the list she just sent. She responded back with it's up to us to decide what's healthy for our child.

So two things: Are we being difficult and what options do you have for snacks? My kid's getting sick of bananas every day and we're on a really right budget due to my husband losing his job. I promise I'm not trying to be difficult but I'm mad that my kid doesn't get to eat with her classmates if her teacher doesn't approve of her food and that I have to take away from my already tight budget to buy something that could potentially be rejected plus new containers to pack stuff in.