Preschool

First Day of Preschool via my iphone!

The girls started preschool last week.  It's not that they need to go, but we thought it would be good for them to get out of our house 2 mornings a week and socialize with some little ones their own age.  It also gives Nana and Memaw a break!   After orientation and open house, I suddenly found myself thinking, "I've made a terrible mistake . . . my babies are too little to go to preschool . . ."     It's only 2.5 hours 2 mornings a week, but, nonetheless, I was a bit nervous the first day.

We arrived early, so we decided to let the girls play on the playground for a bit to shake off any anxiety [maybe I should have played on the playground!]  Soon, it was time to go into their classrooms.  Brad videoed the girls walking down through the hall, anticipating a tearful goodbye . . . (we had a plan in place in case one of the girls or both had a meltdown) . . .when we arrived at their classroom, they both walked in, gave their teacher a flower, and all we saw was the back of their heads going!  Ha!  Ellie told me later that "Faithy cried for mommy . . ." but the teacher said they both did really well! Wheww!  

The next day, wasn't quite as easy.  Faith is going to be the one who doesn't like goodbyes.  Ellie walked right in and said "bye mom."  Thank goodness for that.  Ellie was the one who I thought would have problems with separation, but I think since we've gone over things with Ellie, she's good.  As long as she knows what to expect and what the progression of the day will be, she is super calm and at peace.  My girl loves routine!  Faith, on the other hand, is a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of girl!

It's a small class -- only 8 children, so I really like that.  They both come home with the funniest stories, especially as told by a 2 and 3 year old.  Ellie said everyone likes to  'touch her hair,' and Faith told me all about "Ruffie" the class "stuffed animal" pet.   Today, Faith told me they played "instruments . . ."  I asked her what type of instrument did she play, and she said, "oh, all kinds of instruments but mostly jingle bells."  That girl cracks me up with her vocabulary.  Last week we were going out to eat and Faith said she wanted 'clam legs'... we chucked and told her clams didn't have legs.  She probably meant 'crab legs.'  Her exact words back to me were, "Yes, I understand, but I really want clam legs . . ."  I kid you not!  She's like a sponge soaking up ever word we say!

Their first "assignment" this week was to fill out an All About Me sheet and bring a picture of their family.  This gave me the opportunity to talk with Ellie again about adoption and how all families are different.  We talked about Africa and Ethiopia and our plane ride home, her friends from Ethiopia, etc. These conversations typically make Ellie very anxious, but more and more, she's allowing me to share with her.  She's still not crazy about looking at pictures from Ethiopia, but we are working on that.  We also talked again about how Faith was in my tummy, but Ellie was always in my heart.   It's so cute when she tells someone that.  She doesn't understand the entire statement, but someday she will.  

Picture Ellie's teacher sent me from her first day!   She looks a little shy!

Faith's First Day!  She doesn't look very happy!