#PreschoolProblems

Sam is still doing well at his new school. He's brave with Bruce at drop-off, but still gives me fits. The daily reports from the teachers still show him participating, attentive, happy (and, as an added bonus today showed him picking his nose in almost every shot). The teachers say he is a little apprehensive to join the gang of "big boys" who play a little rough on the playground (they ARE big! some of them will be starting kindergarten in the fall), but that he's happy to play with them one-on-one.

When he is telling me about the new friends he is making in school, he does it in the quirkiest way, like we are two friends chatting at a cocktail party. He'll ask, "Do you know Chloe?" "Do you know Jack Cleveland or Jack Lau?" His world is still small enough that I'm imagining he thinks there is a finite number of people to be known. Here's a shot of him today with his new friend Chloe.

He is not without his share of concerns, however. He confided in me upon pick-up last Friday that he had cried a little bit on the playground that afternoon.

"You did?" I asked. "Why?"

"I was worried about you," Sam said.

What a sweetheart, right? Already showing so much empathy. My heart swelled.

"Aw, honey. What were you worried about?"

"I was worried that when you came to pick me up you weren't going to bring my snack and my water in my own cup."

....Well, at least he's not too sensitive. Life is hard on the poets. And yes I am refining my "children in the third world are lucky to have any snack at all after preschool" speech, but I don't think he's mature enough for it yet.

(He is referring, if you must know, to the fact that his dad alwayseverydaywithoutfail brings him the same snack in the same cup and water in the same Sam-approved cup. I often bring him a bag of something I got out of the vending machine at work and the dregs of whatever I happen to be drinking at the time. It upsets him. Apparently.)

Weekend Roundup

We decorated our chalkboard (about the only nod to the green holiday, except for our yummy Irish beef stew on Sunday, which Sam refused to eat).



Played soccer again....


Too busy for water, Dad!!


We went to a cool Lego exhibit!


And tried to make our own masterpiece.


Went out to breakfast. Sam said, "Take a picture of me drinking my milk!"


Dressed up like the Easter bunny.


And had a play date.

PHEW.

Futbol

Sam loves soccer! He got off on the wrong foot, so to speak, as his first day of practice was last Monday, which was also his first full day at his new school. He was exhausted, and the last thing he wanted to do was start a new activity with a new group of strangers. It was OK, though -- we watched for a while, and then we went home. Judging from his Monday practice, I had low expectations for his participation on Saturday, but he surprised me! I did bribe him with hot chocolate (which it turns out he doesn't like), but that was an unnecessary move on my part.


They didn't have a jersey that fit him, so we had to make do.


Just hanging with the team. A team called The Crackerjacks.


Hey mom!


Sam has the ball and is being pursued by the other team (The Chickadees).


Such fun.


Sam's turn to kick in the ball.


Sam scored his team's first goal! It was really sweet. The coach asked all the kids to give Sam a high five. He was beaming. Given the capricious nature of three-year-olds, we'll see if he plays with such enthusiasm this Saturday. I know hot chocolate is not the way to encourage his performance this time, though.

Carolina Boys

Sam and his buddy, James, hanging out before a UNC Lacrosse game.

New School Updates

After a heart-wrenching Monday morning, Bruce took Sam to school yesterday and today. Here are his drop-off reports.

Tuesday

Sam was brave this morning.  After you left, he got it into his head that he wanted to leave even as he whimpered and cried. At one point he said we were going to be late.  He grabbed a Curious George book and not a toy, no matter how much I asked if he wanted to take a car.  He grabbed his coat and wanted to go.  Very much as if he knew he had to do it so let’s get it over with.  So we got there and there were right many folks in class, he was ok, but whimpering and put away his blanket and dolphin, found his hook, etc.   Again, all the while whimpering.  Went back into the room and was crying a little more but trying to contain himself. He hugged me and gave me a kiss and then grabbed dolphin and his book and was heading to sit next to Carina when I left.

All in all, very brave, but very difficult.

Wednesday

Good drop off. He was pretty ready to go, but there was an undercurrent of trepidation.  He made me stay with him until he washed his hands and he made me hug him about 4 times.  But I saw no tears and heard no whimpering.

So, things are getting easier. It helped that Sam slept in a little this morning (until 6:30) and so was a little more rested. And despite his rocky starts, he is clearly having a great time. This is his activity report from yesterday:

What a fun day! During circle time, we read "The Cat in the Hat" by Dr. Seuss; after reading we discussed about the fun things we can do in rainy days. The children were asked to share their ideas, and we wrote them down on  raindrop cut-out. Also, we play a rhyming word game. The children were given three words, if  all word rhymed they showed their thumbs up, if the words didn't rhyme, they showed their thumbs down. They loved doing this activity!

Today, the children made Thing 1&2 hand print art with Ms. Evans. Before lunch time, we listen to the story "Green Eggs and Ham" then we talked about the importance of trying new food. After the children have tried their lunch, they were encouraged to vote.

New School News

Breaking news: Sam has started a new school. After we moved from Durham to Chapel Hill, just five minutes away from my office, the commute to Durham and back for his daycare was something we knew we wanted to discontinue as soon as possilbe. So after nearly six months of the daily slog, Sam got a spot in the UNC daycare, called Victory Village (this is after being on the waitlist since April 2011). We are excited! Sam, not so much. He already misses his old friends and his old school. Drop-off is hard on both of us.

But the great thing about this new daycare? They send email updates, and lots of them! By lunchtime my last memory of him (looking pitiful) is replaced with photos of him looking engaged and happy.

The school is celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday all week. Today, Sam joined his friends in a game of "Cat In the Hat" bean bag toss! He also made and counted truffula trees (using pompoms, pipe cleaners, and playdough), and loved having his face painted like the Cat In the Hat. Tomorrow? They will eat green eggs and ham (Sam I am says he does like them). My thanks to Dr. Seuss for easing Sam through another tough transition! Oh, the places you'll go!!