Preschool rocks!

So, this past week was Jayden's first week of preschool.  I wasn't really worried with the drop-off, mostly because we've been dropping Jayden off for most of his life.  So he's used to that part.  I was more worried with how he was going to be generally with the other kids, with the teachers, with going to the bathroom, etc.  As most of you probably guessed, I didn't really need to worry, except that he came home telling us he played with "stripe shirt girl" or "blue shirt boy" pretty much every day.  I learned more names than he did last week!

With his backpack on (with almost nothing inside!) ready to head to school.  No smiles for Mama today; he was all business.

Holding Daddy's hand as we walk into preschool.  The whole family had to drop him off.

When I picked him up.  He had to show me 15 things before we could go home.  I think maybe he had fun!

Walking out of Room 3, his room.  The cubbies are on the left; the play area and nap area is directly behind him.  You can't see it, but the eating area is to the right.  

According to Jayden, this was his first day:

• "I didn't have any accidents.  I went potty before nap.  And I went potty after nap.  But when I came back my mat was gone!"  (apparently he had gotten up to use the bathroom during rest time, with the intention of returning to rest, but his teacher thought he was done!)
• "I ate peas and watermelon.  And something else, but I don't remember." (the school has a chef, so they feed him snack, lunch and snack every day - totally worth the extra money for me to not have to pack lunch!)
• "I had a litttttttle tiny cup."  (the school provides the cups too, so he was telling me about the cup)
• There was a marble run in the "lower yard" (where the big kids play), but he might not be able to show it to me because the teacher might put it away.  There was blue and yellow and green and red, and lots of different places to put the marbles.  And there was a pulley.  
• He runs sooooo fast up the hill and down the hill.
• He played with "the girl in the striped dress."  I asked if he knew her name.  He said no.  I said maybe he should find out the kids' names.  He asked me why.  So yeah.  Then Carmen said he should find out her name because she might not wear the same thing tomorrow.  I thought that was a good point.  But Jayden still thought it was fine not knowing names.  He wore a sticker name tag with his name all day - I think mostly for the teachers since many of the kids can't read anyway!
• He played "upstairs" in his classroom (there are two floors to his classroom, but they are separated by about two or three steps) with a train.  He called it was a train, but his teacher said it was a farm.  I didn't really get it, but that was his report.
• He had a problem with a girl in his class who wouldn't let him play in the house or on the swing.  He solved the problem by just doing something else, but I also suggested he talk to her about taking turns.  I want him to assert his rights, to an extent!
• His teacher (Teacher Anita) said he had a good day.  She said he rested well.  She said he seems so much older - I'm not sure if she meant because of his size or because of his personality, or both.  She seems really nice.

Days two, three, four and five were relatively similar from Jayden's perspective.  He was able to give me a few more specifics, but for the most part he played outside, he rested and he played inside.  By Friday he knew one kid's name: Grayson.  And he asked another kid his name in front of me: Landon.  So that's progress!

When I dropped him off Thursday morning, a teacher from Room 5 was watching the lower yard.  Her name was Beth.  I introduced myself and she said, oh, Leigh is my middle name.  Well I explained my full name was actually Leigh Elizabeth, and she said her full name is Elizabeth Leigh.  Hilarious.  I really like her.  And then I found out yesterday that she's moving to another school.  So sad!  

He also is learning the monkey bars.  He can swing out on the monkey bars and hang for a minute, and then drop to the ground and land on his feed.  He honestly couldn't have done that a month ago.  And apparently that's a milestone for them - being able to drop from the bars.  Beth also explained to me that the teachers aren't allowed to help them climb the ladder, but they can sort of spot and provide suggestions.  But if the kid wants to climb the ladder, she has to do it on her own.  I love that.  Such a better accomplishment for the child if s/he does it completely on their own.

Jayden, Landon and Darya (sp?) filling up their water canisters.  It was around this time that Jayden asked Landon his name.  By the way, Jayden and Landon were playing together one or two other days this week.
At one point Landon and Darya were fighting over whose turn it was at the water spigot.  Jayden pipes up with a "hey guys!  no fighting!"  That's our little teacher in the making!

Jayden's cubby.  

Also, on day 3 I started getting emails from the school.  They send out an email every day with what they did.  They look like this:

Room 3

Art- Some friends painted at the easel and mixed the paint colors together to make new ones.

Science- Some friends used the colored viewers to look out the window. They noticed how they made things look with the different colors. Other friends observed the walking sticks and noticed that some were getting big.

Math- We made groups of two by choosing another friend, and then choosing an area to work in. We also used a number scale to match the correct number of unifix cubes.

Language- We talked about the different apples that we have tasted before, and their different tastes. We discussed our schedule and various activities that we have for today. We welcomed a new friends our class. Some friends shared stories from home. We talked about how raising our hands lets the teacher know that we have something to share like a comment or a question.

Sensory- We used a variety of tools to mix pink colored sand and salt. Friends felt the rough and soft textures.

Books- We read “Bear Hunt”, “From Head to Toe”, and “Every Body Counts”.

Flannel- We did “Five Little Lady Bugs” while chanting the story, we demonstrated with our fingers the amount of ladybugs left. We did 5-4-3-2-1. We also showed 0 by hiding our hands behind our back, making a zero shape with our hands.

Manipulatives and blocks – We used the circle stackers and connected them together. Some friends worked together to put puzzle pieces in the correct place. We also used blocks to create ramps and race cars down and up the ramps. Some friends used dinosaurs along the ramps to scare fast moving cars.

Dramatic play – We

Music – We sang our morning songs. We also danced to “Tooty Ta” and “Open Shut them”.

Outside – We used a variety of collage items to glue on paper. We molded clay by using our hands and tools. Some friends rolled dump trucks down the hill side. Other friends rolled tires down the hill. We also practiced going back and forth on the monkey bars. We pretended with the little people and play house. During outside play, we also notice beetles flying around. Some friends were scared, we reassured them that they were harmless and if left alone, they won’t bother us.

I can't believe they send these out every day, but it's pretty awesome.  Oh.  And three of the four days they also splashed in these inflatable pools, and played with a water hose octopus.  The school took a some pictures, and these are the ones with Jayden:

The water hose octopus.  Finally by Friday I figured out to send his swim trunks just in case.  And then of course they didn't splash that day.  Oh well.
Also, doesn't he look like a giant in this picture?!?  

Hanging over the side of the inflatable pool.

The upside is that Jayden has loved school and really wants to go back.  I love the way they teach, I love the way they handle disputes between kids, I love the communication with the parents.  Both the director and assistant director are pretty much always out with the kids.  I actually can't figure out when they get a minute to do the rest of their work.  I am very grateful that I found this school and that they had space for Jayden.  And then I found out that Dakota for sure has a spot as of mid or late October.  I told my bosses I need to either come back to work late, or work out some arrangement where I work from home, bring Dakota to work, or something else, if they really want me back earlier.  (and based off of the last week, considering how many emails I got and how many problems I think I solved, I think they want me back sooner rather than later.  Argh.)

The downside is that we think preschool has exhausted Jayden.  He has been more of a pickle than normal this week, including throwing a huge temper tantrum on either Tuesday or Wednesday.  Probably one of the bigger ones we have ever seen.  I finally put him in his bed, in his clothes, turned off the lights and closed the door.  We left him in there for about five minutes.  When we opened the door, he had turned the light on and was sitting calmly in his chair.  He was able to make a calm, rational decision (to take a bath) and then get into bed.  But man it was hard getting there.  The rest of the week was better than that, but still challenging.  He's reached his negotiation stage - where everything is a negotiation.  "Mama, can I watch one video?"  I say "sure, but just ONE."  He watches the one video.  And then asks "I can't watch another video?!?"  And I say no. And he starts whining and asking me every five seconds if he can watch another video.  At some point I'm going to say no videos at all.  But it's really funny - the videos he likes watching are videos about Hot Wheels cars and tracks.  It's hilarious.  But they're long videos - like 15 minutes sometimes!  

All in all, it was a good first week.  Jayden definitely thinks preschool is about the coolest thing ever, which is all I was really going for.  Hopefully he continues to feel this way!