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There She Grows

This week, Lilah started at a new daycare/preschool place.   After looking into several local options and attending a preschool forum some time ago I had finally decided on Segray, an adorable little place right in our neighborhood that naturally transitions from a daycare to a preschool.     I love the fact that there is a small number of children and the variety of unique activities they do there.   We’re starting with 2 days a week and may increase that over time.. once I start makin some money.

After our first daycare attempt went awry due to bad timing, I was fairly apprehensive.   We went for a little preliminary tour of the school, during which Lil was able to spend over an hour blending in with their typical day.  She seemed to throw herself right in with no problem.  That was a great sign!  I went back for one more prelim visit, when I filled out all the paperwork. Again they let us stay awhile so she got to have a second practice day, and seemed thrilled to participate in everything the other children were doing.   Seemed like a great fit! Here are some photos of her mixing right in with the other kids on those first visits. She’s the youngest of them all, so she’s the small one, lol.

Tuesday was her first real day there, and she was in another clingy phase after returning from our whirlwind Chicago trip, which worried me.  But as soon as we pulled up to the school she was excited to be back.  Once inside I let her go and she immediately went to play with the other children, and went to see the bunnies.      I stayed and watched until it was circle time, when all the kids gather in a room to begin one of the structured parts of their day.  I watched as they went around the circle, introducing each child with a song while they stood in the center and banged on a drum.  When it came Lilah’s turn she just got right up and did it without hesitation.   I had expected a bit of a struggle with my goodbye… but since she was having such a great time I didn’t want to disturb anything, so I simply slinked away. Before they started their circle time they had gathered in the room and I snapped this quick, blurry photo… she looks so small. but intrigued..

For the first time in a looooong time I had hours to myself so I got some stuff done around the house and then had time for some freelance work.  wooo hoo!   I called the school one time to make sure things were going ok and they said they were thrilled with her and she was doing great!  When I picked her up at 2, she was super happy and the teachers just went on and on about what a great first day she had.  They were already alarmed at her talking and how busy she is. They were impressed with how readily she involved herself with the other kids, being the youngest and the smallest. yes, my daughter is certainly not shy. She will learn from the big kids (most are between 2 and 3). She also talks a lot more than many of the other kids, and the teachers seem to think that they can learn from her too. Rad.

Here is a photo of her in our car ride home after her first day.  What a great mood she was in.  Pantless because they don’t have sippy cups so she spilled all over herself- she is gonna quickly learn to drink from a real one I guess.

Her second day was today. I was again a bit concerned… now that she knew i was going to leave her here, would she be more hesitant? Answer: nope. She was excited all morning about returning to school. “School?! School?!” She repeated in the car. When I carried her in she was yelling “hi!” to all the other kids. I put her down and she ran off to show me a toy she liked, then she went off chasing one of the bunnies. The school has several pets which is genius… assuming kids are as animal obsessed as mine is. Right as I was ready to leave she had a brief moment of “mommy!!” and came running for one more hug. Then I told her it was time to go play with the bunnies and all her friends and I’d be back to see her in a little while. That brief reassurance was all she needed. She went to go sit at a table with 3 other girls, and I left. That afternoon they told me it was another great day and they couldn’t believe she had been ‘let go’ from that initial daycare. They seem to think she is a really great addition to their place. I am just so SO thrilled and relieved and proud and just ecstatic that she is loving school so far. Yay. she is ready.