First Week of Preschool (video)

First Day of Preschool!

Hannah's first day at Parker School (not counting the eight days she spent at summer camp there in June) went off like a charm. She ran to greet the Director Matt at the front gate, was adept at putting her backpack away in her personal cubbie, and was quick to find the craft room (and painting easel). She was also super excited to reunite with her new BFF Katie whom she met over the summer (and with whom she immediately set off a giggle storm on the see saw boat), and make new friends, like Riley the Redhead, Sofia the stylish Euro-girl, and Kaija whose birthday party we attended back in June. Her teachers told me she even used the potty at school, which blew me away considering she'd only done that about three times at home! And based on how absolutely crabby she was when we did arrive home, I'm going to say the day was a total success. No broken bones or sprains, no complaints about school, a shirt covered in blue and green paint (she used blue, as usual, while Katie used green), and clearly exhaustion (3 hour nap still going!). Thanks Parker School for inviting us into your community!

First Day of School!

Hannah attended her first day of preschool (summer school session anyway) at the Parker School today. Unsurprisingly, she didn't even look back when I told her I was off to run errands and would see her later (my soft-pedaled Goodbye for her). In fact, I had to work to keep her attention, and to get her to come see her new, personalized cubicle, "let's take off your backpack and sweatshirt," etc. just to hold her focus for a few minutes longer -- apparently it was ME who was having the hard time saying goodbye. I looked her in the eye, and said "Hey, Hannah, I'll see you in a little bit ok??" She looked back at me, said "OK bye," and then whirled around and ran down the mini-staircase toward a table with some coloring pens and stuff in the art room. I peeked through the window to see if she was indeed going to be ok, and to be sure she wasn't looking for me in a last-minute panic (when did I become so self-involved?), but the truth hurt -- she had already forgotten that I existed...

By the time I came back around 11:45 to pick her up, she was sitting by the fence with a few other kids, chowing down the bag of Wheat Thins I'd left for her in her backpack (also unsurprising that, based on her feeding frenzy, she'd probably refused whatever snack the school supplied). Her white (?!? duh) cords and shirt were covered in a mixture of multi-colored paints, sparkles, and mud/dirty water. The teacher overseeing the pick-ups informed me that she'd fallen off a ladder and gotten pretty upset, but she thought it was more the surprise than the actual pain of the fall that led to her tears. Yeah, probably. That didn't stop Hannah from telling me multiple times on the way home about how she "fall on my back" and actually did seem to have some real, albeit minor, injuries to her back and foot. Oh well, what are you going to do, right? I guess this is the beginning of learning to let go. As excited as I was for her for this day to come - knowing that she would love school, and that I would enjoy the new free time it afforded me - I can already see that this "goodbye" business is only going to get harder as she grows older and even more independent. Who needs college anyway!?

"Don't let the door hit ya, mom!"

We're doing Somersaults over here!

Literally AND figuratively..! By some combination of hard work, excessive worrying, being a little scrappy, and really, just plain odds-defying miracle/LUCK, we got accepted into....preschool! (Yes, one would think we might have been talking about some specialty genius/arts program or an ivy league school, but no....we're simply talking about preschool. And here in the city of San Francisco, applications seem to be at an all-time high for the very limited supply. What's with the city-centric baby boom??)

Anyway, we will be attending 150 Parker School starting this fall, going five mornings a week, 8:45 - 11:45. And we are sooooo excited, as we think Hannah is simply going to LOVE preschool. I can't lie - the prospect is just a little unnerving for ME however. While I am certainly looking forward to the newfound freedom I will be afforded by this significant milestone, I am already wondering 1) what the heck will I do with myself (besides engage in a more regular gym habit)? and 2) how will Hannah adjust and feel and BE in the care of Other People, not to mention the 23+/- other active toddlers vying for the same toys/attention/etc. in her class? It's a pretty big deal, all the moreso since it's a full 5-days-a-week gig. But then, just like anything, I think one the adjustment period is over, all are going to be very happy campers.

CONGRATULATIONS HANNAH!

The little red school at 150 Parker Avenue.