preschool

Today Jonathan and I enrolled Blue in a preschool!

It is at the local Catholic church, and we all went by today to check it out and observe a current class of three year olds. I got so weepy. I am pathetic. But I couldn't help it. The kids were so cute and the room was so cheerful with great big murals on the walls and all the little crafts on the bulletin boards and the tiny little chairs around the tiny little tables...

Blue marched right into the classroom and said "hi" to the kids. She is such a riot.

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This morning when I put her to bed after the Battle of the Toast, Jonathan and I took the toys out of her room. Not in a crazed, mean way or anything. But we had been mulling over the idea for a while. She tends to just play in her room for hours when she is supposed to be sleeping. We were thinking all the toys are just way too much of a distraction. So today, we decided, especially if she was being sent to her room for not touching her breakfast, it would defeat the purpose if in her little head, she was just going up to her room to play for a while! And, it seems to be working. She went right to sleep this morning and also tonight.

Any way. So Blue walks into the room and says "hi" to the other kids and I introduce her to the director of the preschool who was giving us the tour.

Blue says, "Hi!"
Director: "Hi, Blue!"
Blue: "Mommy and Daddy took my toys away."
!!!!!!!!!!!
Luckily, the director misunderstood. "Mommy and Daddy made you leave your toys in the car?"
Mommy and Daddy, in unison: "Yes! Yes, we made her leave her toys in the car." and "Blue! Did you see this little kitchen! How fun!"

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Blue and the director were playing with some little dollhouse people while Jonathan and I looked around:

Blue: "Where's the Baby Jesus?"  Jonathan and I looked at each other. Awesome! We're not Heathens!

Director: "Alright, Mommy and Daddy, did you two coach her on that?"

I laughed and explained that Blue has a Fisher Price Nativity set.

The awesomeness of her Baby Jesus comment was instantly negated when I asked Blue to help me put away the dolls two seconds later and she said, "No!" and hit me.

I was mortified. I assured the director that Blue would not hit the other children, that she really only hit me. And that was only occasionally.  (I wasn't about to tell her about the Lion, or poor Sam Davenport for that matter!)

And then the director said the coolest thing. A thing I desperately needed to hear today. "She misbehaves with you because she knows it's okay. You're Mommy. She knows you'll love her no matter what she does."

Which made me get all weepy again.

Anyway, the important thing is, even after seeing Blue smack me around, she is still allowed to attend the school! So she will start this fall.

I think this school is wonderful. The teachers seem very nice. They have a beautiful, very secure playground. The children are taught a French word every day by one of the nuns. (Which will be wonderful. And a nice addition to the Spanish she is learning from watching Dora and Sesame Street.) They go on little field trips, like to the pumpkin patch for Halloween and they have a Mother's Day function and a "Donuts with Dad" for Father's Day.

Blue seems very excited. She loved the playground. And I can't wait for her to get to really spend time with children her own age. I think she picks on the poor Lion mostly because she is so little and doesn't know any better, but also because she is bored hanging out with just Lion and me all the time. I also think it will be nice for Lion to have me to himself 3 times a week.

Bluee and I went shopping this evening, and as we were walking out the door she asked if we were going to preschool. I said, "Not yet, honey. You'll go to preschool after your birthday." So in the car, she asked if today was her birthday.

I cannot believe my girl is almost old enough for preschool! I cannot believe she hit me right in front of the director!