Tears Shed on First Day of Preschool

Kirsten Organ couldn't help gettting a little misty-eyed as she told her son Dane she was going to be leaving his preschool room.

Dane is Organ's first child to be off to school, and she has an 18-month-old still at home.

However, Dane was having a blast with the train set in teacher Deb Hughes' classroom and barely waved as his mom left. "He's fine," said Organ. "It's me that's having trouble."

Thursday was the first day back to class for 312 children and 15 teachers at on Vine Hill Road.

Judy Erdahl, coordinator of Minnetonka Preschool and ECFE, said the first day is always exciting for both the parents and kids. Except for a few tears, this year's first day went smoothly.

"I can't believe everyone has grown about a foot this summer," she said. "It's fun to see the enthusiasm."

Erdahl said the biggest reason for the great first day is the "fabulous staff."

Special education staff put together a series of DVDs on classroom routines–a video modeling technique–that teachers can show their preschoolers on the first days of school.

"Children can spend a couple minutes just watching how to walk down the hall, how to do circle time, wash their hands and all of that," Erdahl said. "Having that visual reinforcement really helps them know what the expectations are."

Still thinking about signing your child up for preschool? You can.

With 20 different sections of preschoolers, the morning sessions are totally filled, but there is a waiting list to put your name on just in case.

There are some openings in the afternoon classes, and parents can sign up by visitng the Minnetonka Community Education website.