As I have mentioned before, Sophie looooves school. She loves being there, loves her friends, her teachers, and all their activities.  She was ALL excited to go back after summer break. She loves school so much that she was none too pleased when I kept her home Tuesday because she had a cold.

So imagine my surprise yesterday when I picked up my happy girl from school, before we had even made it halfway down the sidewalk, she said, “Mom, guess what?  I got a time out.”  I was shocked! First of all, I didn’t even know they gave time outs in her class, but I guess they have to do something when the kids misbehave.  And secondly, I couldn’t believe my little angel had been the misbehaver!

“Why did you get a time out?” I asked her.

“Because I pushed Ashley off the computer.”

My jaw dropped. Now I was really aghast.  ’You PUSHED ASHLEY??”

She then proceeded to confess the whole story.  They have a computer center in their class and Sophie got a little impatient when Ashley didn’t immediately vacate that center when her turn was up.  So she resorted to violence. What can I say, the girl loves her some computer!  All kidding aside though, I was pretty flummoxed.  That’s just not like Soph and she looooooves Ashley. Ashley and Julio were the first two friends she mentioned when she started this school last fall, and her affection for Ashley had not waned.

Fortunately, my little brute expressed the appropriate remorse, and we talked ad nauseum about how she should handle such situations in the future.  And then, I made her write an apology note:

I’m sure Ashley will cherish it for-ev-er. It’s like the preschool version of a yearbook signature. Today it’s “I’m sorry I pushed you”, tomorrow it’s “LYLAS, never change, have a great summer”.
Or, if I fail terribly at mothering, “Get your @$$ out of my chair before I CUT you!”

Last year at this time, I sent a very shy, uncooperative, crazy girl off to preschool.  She wanted to play but didn’t want to do any work!

Today I sent a social butterfly, a helper, a “big kid” in her class – a child who loves drawing, painting, glueing, cutting, and most of all – FRIENDS!

A year ago Sophie wasn’t a big talker and had some trouble making herself understood. This year, I sometimes want to duct tape her mouth shut in a good way, ha ha! And she has no trouble communicating effectively.

She was so excited to go to school today! She had her backpack on 20 minutes before it was time to leave. She was delighted to see her friends and teachers. She didn’t even look back at me as I dropped her off. I had to call her back for a hug!

I could not possibly be any more proud of her!! As I left her there without a qualm, I was happy for her, and happy for me. I know we’ll both have a great year!

In September, I told you all about Sophie’s first day of preschool.  And tomorrow, it will be her last day.

Well, her first last day, anyways.  Since she has a fall birthday, she will have two years of preschool. Thank God!  My heart literally hurts at the thought of kindergarten!

Sophie has changed a ton this year.  I mean a huge, huge change.  She already knew her ABCs and 123s, shapes, and colors, and all that academic stuff, but she was S-H-Y at the beginning of the year. She didn’t want much to do with the other kids.  Now, she is Miss Preschool Social 2011, and introduces herself to everyone that looks friendly at the park or the mall play place.  And, she who was once very protective of her personal space now enjoys invading others’, like she did to Andrea’s little guy Andon at our Tide Stain Release event on Sunday.

Poor Andon had no choice in the matter!

I could not be more proud of my little girl.  She has had a great year, made so many friends, and really picked up some great social skillz.  Not to mention cutting and pasting and drawing and writing her name and all that good stuff.

Sophie girl, I don’t know what I am going to do with you all summer!  But I sure am glad I got the gift of watching you become a big girl this year.  I love you SO much, and I LOVE being your mommy!

When Sophie started this particular preschool right after Thanksgiving, I was worried about her adjustment, but she got comfortable with the other kids right away. She mentioned Julio’s name within the first couple of days.  At first I was like “Julio? Really?”  - I thought maybe I was misunderstanding her.  But I asked her teacher, and sure enough – there was a boy in her class named Julio.  By the end of the week she had also mentioned a little girl named Ashley.   By the end of the second week, I knew the name of every kid  in her class (there are 12 including her).  She was excited to tell me about all her new friends, but Julio’s name is one she mentions without fail.  When I am dropping her off and she sees him walking down the sidewalk she gets so excited and yells, “Here comes Julio!” or “Look, Julio’s here!”

One day before Christmas when I went to drop Sophie off, I saw Julio’s mom dropping him off, and I tried to tell her how much Sophie luuurves Julio.  But, I discovered there is a bit of a language barrier: her response to me was to smile and nod and say “It’s cold!”  (Which it was.)  Dangit, I am really regretting that French minor I had in college!  Spanish would apparently have been much more effective!

A couple of days later when I went to pick Sophie up, the class was running a little late so they had me come in the room (usually they just throw the kids out the door at you).  As I was getting Sophie’s coat on, Julio kept saying “Bye So-PHIE, bye So-PHIE!” very energetically.  One of Sophie’s teachers smiled and said, “He doesn’t say much in English, so that means something right there.”

So apparently Sophie and Julio are members of the Mutual Admiration Society.

Sophie thanks Jesus for Julio every night at bedtime (usually either Ashley or another classmate, Dominic, also gets a shout-out to the big JC as well.)  She can now write his name, which along with her teacher’s name and Ashley’s name, is her favorite thing to write.

And every day after school, when I ask her who she played with at school, she yells “WHO-LEE-OH!” before I can even finish the question.

I’m super-excited that Sophie has made such good friends at school, and I think it’s just a LITTLE bit cute that her BFF is a little boy who speaks even less English than she does.

Also super-excited that it ties in so perfectly with a Paul Simon song.  I mean, really!  It’s Sophie and Julio down by the schoolyard, and I couldn’t be happier about it.

If you live in the Dayton area and have small kids, you’ve no doubt been to the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery many times. If not, you should go often! It’s a wonderful place for kids to learn and play, and has been since I was a child. My two kiddos both love it there – Joshua recently had a special day there with my mom and came home all excited! Their zoo also just re-opened after a massive renovation and it is spectacular!  I love taking the kids there myself, but since I am a million months pregnant, my mom also has a special day at the Boonshoft planned with my kids next week when they are on break from school (don’t tell them yet, though!)

So when I heard that the Boonshoft had opened a preschool, my immediate thought was “what a great idea!”  It’s always been such a fun environment for kids to learn in, and having a classroom setting there just seems so natural.  Plus, the students at the Boonshoft’s Kaleidoscope Preschool have full access to the museum’s zoo, science exhibits, and experts.  I can’t imagine a better learning environment.  Just a couple days after I heard about Kaleidoscope Preschool, a friend mentioned she was thinking about sending her son there!  So, I guess the word is spreading!

If you’re looking into preschool options for your child, here are some things to consider about Kaleidoscope. It is a Montessori school, and offers a mixed-age classroom, with children age three through kindergarten learning together.  They offer options for  full-day programs five and three days a week, or a half-day program three days a week.  In this encouraging and creative classroom environment, kids learn not just language, math, and science concepts, but they work on practical life skills and becoming independent, too.  (Those latter two are thing I personally wish I’d worked more on with my kiddos!)

The teacher at Kaleidoscope has a M.S. in child development and as I’ve mentioned, can utilize the museum’s resources fully to teach her students through an active circle time as well as small group lessons.  One thing that really appeals to me about the typical day setup at Kaleidoscope is that the schedule involves large group, small group, independent play, and play time with others.  So there’s time for structure and time for kids to explore the classroom and interact with each other as well.  The full-day program also incorporates a rest time for the younger kids while the kindergarteners continue their learning time.

Other important facts to know about Kaleidoscope Preschool: It’s licensed by the Ohio Department of Education and the faculty is Montessori trained and certified.  You can also visit the school to observe Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday from 9:15-10:15 or take a tour by appointment.

So what do you think about a preschool at the Boonshoft?  For more info, visit their website, where you can find contact information for Kaleidoscope preschool as well as download an application form.

The new daycare is located where I work, which is about 40 minutes from our house. So, I have a new carpool buddy!

I was a little concerned about having him in the car for so long every day, but we have had so much fun going to and from his new “preschool.” He is a chatty little thing, and I love hearing him talk and sing songs. I love picking him up – my favorite part of the day is when he runs up to me when I get there – and it’s great to talk to his teachers and hear about his day. Yesterday they were cracking up because he was talking about football and told them “The Bengals are really struggling.” It’s wonderful to have an extra hour and a half with him each day!

It’s only been a few days, and while I’m sure the novelty will wear off to some degree, he is absolutely loving it so far. And so am I!

Evan and Sophie on their first day of preschool

One of the very fun things about Sophie starting preschool is that she is in class with my dear friend Cortney’s little boy, Evan.

It’s nice not only because Sophie already has a friend in her class, but because I get to see Cortney twice a week guaranteed, even if it’s only in the parking lot!

But the really nice thing is, Evan spies on Sophie for me.

The first day of school, he and Cortney came out into the parking lot when I was going in to get Sophie.

“Was Sophie good?” I asked him.

“NO!” he answered emphatically.  Cortney and I laughed and I went in to get my little hooligan.

The second day of preschool, I once again met them in the parking lot.  This time, I didn’t even have to ask.

“Jenny, guess WHAT?” Evan yelled.  ”Sophie LISTENED!!”  (well actually, he said “WISTENED” and it was SO FREAKING CUTE!)

Cortney and I once again had a good laugh.  ”She did!??  That’s great!”

Today Cortney reported to me that yesterday my little spy said that this week on Tuesday at school, “Sophie listened sometimes and sometimes she didn’t.”

Good to know!  Evan, I think this could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship.  And though I realize I may have to start paying you one day, I hope you’ll keep informing on Sophie for me until she’s at least 18!!  You’re my favorite little spy!

When we got to school, she was alllll excited, but that was because she remembered they had a big play room with a slide right when you enter the building.  So I immediately had to extricate her from the slide and get her in her classroom, get her hands washed, hang up her bag, etc.  THEN try to get her to STAY there! I did get to snap a quick pic of her with her buddy Evan, Cortney‘s little guy.

Then I gave her a kiss and hug and ran away, letting her teacher be the one to have to keep her in the classroom!  Sophie didn’t mind me leaving, but she wasn’t happy about the staying-in-the-room part.  When Cortney emerged from the building, she told me Sophie was in the room, ummmm, how shall we say, letting her feelings on the situation be known.

Well, that’s my girl!  She’ll learn to fall in line.  Good luck teachers!  I, like you, am counting down the minutes til I can go pick her up!

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!

BUT.  Or should I say “BUTT”.

Sophie has, like her brother before her, developed a fear of going poop in the potty.  Why? I have no idea! What causes this?  She was really doing just FINE with poop in the beginning, albeit there were a couple of times that took her for-ev-er to squeeze the deuce out.  But then, about 10 days ago or so, she started trying to hide and sneak poops past us.  And to add to the fun, she’s made herself constipated. (Also just like her brother!)

Her most preferred pooping place is during her “rest time” or nap in her room.  I think she’s gone to sleep and then 10 minutes later she’s calling for me ’cause she’s got junk in her trunk.  Last night she did this for the first time at bedtime instead of nap time, and it was fun cleaning her up after I’d already gone to bed.  BUT(T) she wasn’t done yet.  This morning she woke up with a full load in her TRAINING PANTS and it was deees-gusting.  Yuck.  I forgot how gross cleaning all the poo out of girl parts is.

With Joshua, I found that the only thing to do was wait this out.  That, and sneak prune juice and flaxseed into anything I could to help him have to go.  And since I’m confident Sophie won’t feel relaxed enough to poop her pants at preschool, I’m not stressing about it. BUT(T) I’d appreciate any tips you all might have about scooting past this stage sooner rather later!