Last day of Parent Education class for Girl

Today was Girl's last Parent Ed class with me. It feels like an important ending and is bittersweet. We have both so enjoyed the class, offered through a local college. It has been the perfect transition for Girl before she starts full-day preschool three days a week in the fall. We started the class last September and it met once a week. Although she talked about the painting easel quite a bit, she seemed most drawn to a room that contained lots of play house type things - a table set with place settings and lots of toy food, boxes of shoes to try on, and of course the book shelf. She loved choosing a couple of books, sitting in my lap and both having me read to her and she telling me about the book or asking questions. It was amazing to see the growth in her this year. In the beginning, other than a close friend in the class, she didn't seem very aware of the other children. Today she was interacting with a few children she "has a relationship with" and even held a little girl's hand on the way in to storytime. She is an observer and it is facinating to see all that she absorbs and then repeats, especially in her language. For several months she watched the teacher singing the songs, doing the gestures and now she loves singing along and doing the gestures with the group. She also has been doing the songs at home. Once she is comfortable in an environment, there is a freedom and eagerness about her that is beautiful to watch. I will miss the time together and especially enjoyed the instructer, who is able to achieve that amazing combination of love for the children, structure and freedom to grow through play. It is a gift.

I am getting SO excited about her starting school in the fall. This morning, Boy's teacher took a few minutes to talk with Girl about all the fun things Girl will do in her class in September - painting, stories, special projects, costumes, sensory tables, etc. Girl really took it in and smiled. The teacher then asked if she could give Girl a hug and Girl gave her a huge hug. It was reassuring to me to see how well Girl responded to the teacher and how things seem to be falling into place.

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