Next Tuesday, I am sending my baby girl off to preschool.  And although I have been really excited about it allll summmer (I mean really! TWO WHOLE MORNINGS A WEEK to myself…you know, until December.), I am now in the throes of a panic attack.  I know Sophie’s two teachers have probably “seen it all” – one of them has been teaching thirty years.  But like every parent, I think my child is “special”.  And I will admit, Sophie is pretty different from most kids she hangs with.  So, dear preschool teachers, here is what I need you to know about my girl.

• She is shy.  Too much attention embarrasses her and makes her cry.  Please don’t make her the center of attention!  We don’t even sing the “Happy Birthday” song to her on her own birthday, because she hates it.
• She likes to watch for awhile before she joins in.  She doesn’t usually just “jump in” to activities she’s never done before.  So it might take her a couple weeks to warm up to preschool in general.
• She has a speech delay. She says a lot of things really, really well, and I can understand her almost all of the time.  But when she wants to converse with you, her speech is often unclear.  She knows what she’s saying, but you might not have a clue.  She’s getting speech therapy for this and has made lots of progress.  Be patient.
• She doesn’t like to answer questions about certain subjects.  If you ask her her name, or how old she is, she won’t tell you – even though she knows.  But if you ask her what a certain letter is, what sounds it makes, what colors something is, or what shape something is, she will talk your head off about that.  Because those are things she loves!  She picks and chooses what she wants to talk about, and what she doesn’t.
• She’s tempestuous and stubborn.  Has been since she was a baby.  She’s either happy or sad, there’s not much in-between with Sophie.
• She has the most beautiful smile.
• She is sweet as sugar and loves with her whole heart.
• She is passionate about letters, McDonald’s Happy Meals, Pepperidge Farm Goldfish, and watching her brother play Mario Kart.
• She loves to sing, but she doesn’t want YOU to sing to HER.  She may not be on board with all the singing that goes on in preschool, but she’ll come around.  She deals with it at church!
• She loves books, and after she knows a story well, prefers to “read” it to you.
• She’s mommy’s girl, and I’m going to worry every minute those first few days.

So, please, take good care of my baby girl!

Oh, and, she tries to get away with a lot more when she’s with me than she does with anyone else..so you’ll probably be fine.  Me?? I’m not so sure that I will be!