New this September

Two Septembers ago, Brody was brand new.

Hey! Look at me now.

 Brody started preschool, two mornings a week for two and a half hours. He looks quite confident in the picture above, but his first two days were rough going. He was a little unsure of the whole thing. New adults, strange kids, no Mommy, no Daddy, no Nana, No Daba, No Me Me (his aunt)  and no Denzie. What da? It was separation anxiety (to the max) and many tears. On the second day Daddy was called early to pick him up.

On the third day, Nana went to school wit Brody.  I learned so much. The class consists of two teachers and something like twelve kids, mostly threes, but a few twos. My main observations are as follows.

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  They have a cool sandbox!
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  They have teeny tiny toilets.
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  The snacks were different (processed cheese squares and saltines.)
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  The children get very involved in independent play.
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  The art project was awesome (sponge painting construction paper frames).
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  I liked the storybook and song (about ice cream).
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  Some kids like to run around and throw stuff.
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  Brody chooses books for quiet time.
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  There was plenty of laughter and tears from a few of the kids who missed mommy or daddy.
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  I was tired afterwards and ready for a nap.
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  I liked preschool. Two and a half hours is just the right amount of time.

After Labor Day, Brody will go back again. He did have one morning at preschool after the Nana morning visit where he stayed alone and enjoyed it. According to my son, he had a few lapses into missing us, but all in all he had a good morning. Listen to this. His teacher sent email pictures of him having fun on the slide and playing. She also sent a reassuring note.  It just doesn't get any better than that, does it?

Kenz also started back to school. She is a second grade Montessori child. This is the teacher-parent communicator. Back and forth it goes. One side in the folder is KEEP AT HOME. One side is RETURN TO SCHOOL.   I like the system.

New this year is NO BACKPACKS ALLOWED. The children are using the reusable large sturdy grocery bags. I'm sold on it. I picked Kenz up from school the other day. When she got to my house she unloaded her bag. When it was time for her mom to pick her up we just tossed all  her stuff back in. What a time saver. No zippers. Everything is visible. And your jacket fits. It will be interesting to see if the lost and found shrinks.

Ah September! Always a month of new beginnings.... not to mention hearts and rainbows.