Lily started her new daycare today and she was very excited. It was a bit like sending your kids off to school as she had her little backpack, supplies and some new clothes. She was going someplace new with lots of other kids, toys and the unknown. Ok, so maybe it was more Mom and Dad that was nervous about the unknown, Lily was just excited.

When I dropped her off she was as happy as can be. She was showing off all her stuff, playing with all the toys and just having a blast. I said goodbye and all was good. Turns out, she was good all day long. She did extremely well and is ready to go back again tomorrow. Hopefully every day is as good as the first.

This is now Lily’s 3rd daycare; well the way I count.

She started off in an in-home daycare which worked out really well in the beginning. When she was a baby she didn’t need much more than someone to watch over her and give her some attention. However, as she grew, it became apparent that she needed more attention and more learning opportunities which her current in-home didn’t provide.

Over the summer Grandma, my mother in-law, took care of Lily 4 days a week in our home. They cooked, cleaned, went to the library, the beach and did pretty much anything and everything. I don’t have any idea how Grandma did half the stuff she did with a toddler but she made it look easy. It was great though as Lily learned so much. The one on one attention was fantastic and the help around the house was nice too.

Now that summer is winding down, Lily is starting at a daycare center. The center is more like a pre-school where she’ll do a lot of learning and enhance her social skills. There are quite a few other kids her age so sharing and taking turns will be very important.

Lily now has her own cubby, she’ll have a show and tell day, music days, reading time, arts & crafts, field trips and just continue to learn so much. This is a perfect match as she wants to do more and wants to be kept busy.

We’ve toured lots of different daycares, seen many different setups and finding the right one is always hard. However, I think we’ve found a good one that will help our little girl grow for years to come.