The Wall Bloggers

Adrianna started preschool today.  I've been anticipating/dreading this day since last spring, when we signed her up.  She's been anticipating it.  I have had my girl home for almost five years, all to myself.  And now, I know I need to let her go.  It's time for her to gain a little independence.  She needs to have some time to grow, without me shadowing her. After much prayer, I took her and dropped her off quickly this morning.  I didn't give her or me a chance to cry. I gave her a quick hug, with an, "I love you!" attached, and headed out the door with her little brother.  On my way out, I took a peek back as she glanced nervously around the room, wondering what she was allowed to play with.  And then I took Abel and Rusty on a nice long walk, so I could pray for my former baby. Three hours later, Abel and I returned to find a happy little girl, sitting nicely in circle time, listening to the Berenstain Bear's back to school book. ...

Yesterday we were blessed with a snow day. We did not actually have too much snow (maybe 4-6 inches?), but the driving wind made the roads icy. Because of those winds, we didn't even get outside much to play in it or build a snowman. Needless to say, Adrianna was pretty disappointed. But when we saw a friend who got cuts on her face from being hit by an icy snowball, I felt justified for not wanting to play in it! I also wanted to give an update on those craft stick mangers. Much to my amazement, the children actually put them together (mostly) on their own! In the picture, you can also see their swaddled baby Jesus and wise men.

Preschool preparation is a little different than elementary preparation. Having done both, I don't know if I would choose which I like better. They're just different. Teaching fifth graders, I had to do abundantly more research, to make sure I passed on accurate information to the next generation. With preschool, I do not need research, but I do need preparation! First, there is a different state of mind in choosing projects that little, unexperienced hands can make, without the teacher ending up making the whole thing. Second, there is more cutting and preparing of the crafts, so that they will be at the stage that those little hands can finish. Over the weekend, I spent far more hours than I care to admit preparing seven little craft stick mangers for our preschool this week. I had to get them to the stage where the children would be able to complete them (hopefully!) on their own. And a thought kept nagging at the back of my mind as I put so much energy into them: I'm ma...

For our preschool, every week, the kids are supposed to bring an object that begins with the letter of the week. A week ago, Adrianna and I discussed things that start with D. When she thought about "Dad" starting with D, she decided she wanted to make a "drawing" of "Dad" (2 D's!). She used a special Color Explosion paper, that created the interesting effect. I think her drawing turned out neat (but then, I am her proud mother).

This is our muffin woman for our preschool lesson on "The Muffin Man". Each kid got a chance to dress up and have the other kids circle around as we sang the song. Fun times!

Wow, so here goes my first entry. This is intimidating. So last night as I was preparing for preschool at our house today, I came in from the garage, and Adrianna said, "Mom, I'm helping you get ready for preschool!" "You are?" "Yeah, I'm taking the pillows off the couch to the guest room!" "Thank you!" When she finished, she said, "Mom, what else can I do??" I said, "I don't know, but I'm so glad to have your help!" She said, "Yeah, it's 'cuz I love you, Mom." I felt like I had fed her words! What a gift!