Carolyn is loving, loving preschool! I'm glad that I didn't send her last year when she was just 3; she was in the world's most wonderful, loving, amazing daycare center that was just fantastic for her and worked so well for our family while I was working- but I am so happy for her to be here now. It's a little bittersweet, as all parenting transitions (even the welcome ones) tend to be- she is so ready for the challenge of more formal schooling, and handling it very well so far. Her best little church friend is in her class and she is SO happy to see Olivia three times a week. The preschool teacher is very good, and I like the way she's organized her class.
Each kid has a character (Carolyn's is a pink octopus- a good choice since she loves pink!) and when they get to school, they pick up their character sticker thing and put it on the "center" they'd like to explore first. Then when they're done at that place, they move the sticker to the next place they'd like to play. It puts the choices in the child's hands so that they get an idea of the basic truth that choosing one thing means not choosing another. And the teacher has limited spots at each "center" so that if the place you want to go is full, you have to then make a secondary decision (another exceptionally great life skill since so much of the really important stuff in life seems to be figuring out how to adapt when things don't go the way you want them to or expec thtem too). There are some times for formal story time and art time and snack time and Bible time and stuff, but a lot of it is sort of organized free play, which is really fun for the kids and good for them to learn basic social skills as well. I really think this is a good place for Carolyn.
We have intentionally made ourselves a little LESS busy this fall compared to last year, and it has so far been a good move for our family. She has preschool MWF mornings, and we have Kindermusik all together on Tuesday mornings, and she still goes to AWANA Cubbies on Wednesday nights at our church. But I'm not working much at the pharmacy anymore (though I do miss it!), and we stopped all other our activities that were happening on weeknights to have more time as a family, and I think I will appreciate this pace better than the crazy rat race we seemed to be on last year.
I am loving Carolyn's active imagination as she grows in self-confidence and maturity; it is so much fun to be able to see what she is thinking! This week alone we have seen her really make some mental leaps and be more willing and able to share the thoughts that are in her mind.
We've been talking about castles for some time now, and Carolyn is really taking off with the idea. Lately she's been talking to me about whatever we are having for dinner- telling me which things she has in her castle (like spaghetti and chicken pesto), and which things she does not have (like potatoes, beans, and mushrooms). It makes me laugh.
Tonight she told me a whole story about her castle. She told me all about what her room looks like, including a "canaby" bed (this comes from my telling her about how I dreamed as a little girl of having a Canopy bed; I am sure she has no idea what it is), and two potties so she can go to the potty in the middle of the night if necessary. One potty is pink on the outside and white on the inside. The other potty is brown. This potty is for Uncle Bryan, in case he needs to go. :) Uncle Bryan should feel lucky he is included in the "castle list." She told me that it was a "girl party" and "just the girls" were invited. Only Nora and Aunt Michelle were listed by name. And then Uncle Bryan got an honorary invite to the "girl party" because he throws her up high in the air and that is really fun.
