If Chapter 1 is birth through toddlerhood, Chapter 2 is the preschool years. Before Chapter 2, kids show an interest in doing things with new mentors and friends. I think they show this interest around 18 months or the time they figure out how to open the door of the house to the outside world. In the last two years, we've taken our first son to swimming lessons four times, daycare playtime once every week or two, playdates with the same group of friends, and library story time. He has also become comfortable around his grandparents and while traveling.
I signed him up for Young Learner's Preschool when he was 1 after hearing about it from a friend. It is to my knowledge one of the best preschools in town. The director is supposedly supportive of shy students, energetic, creates structure, and communicates very well with parents.
During the car ride to preschool, he probably asked me twenty times if I or at least his little brother would stay with him like we had two days ago for Orientation. He also told me I couldn't take a photo of him. I assured him we would get ice cream afterward if he was a good boy and didn't cry or whine. When we arrived, he was excited to carry his bag inside by himself and he said it was okay for me to take a photo. He had a dollar coin in his pocket for good luck and in his bag a t-rex for show-and-tell, markers, crayons, glue, and his down vest for playing at the playground at the last part of class. As soon as we walked into the door, the activity had him. He and all of the other kids who arrived at the same time put their bags on their hooks and went right to the tables to do a project. Here he is with Mrs. Tina and Mrs. Michelle. I believe there are 11 students in his class and that number may go up to 14. Half of them are 3 and half of them are 4.
When I came to pick him up two and a half hours later, he ran to me with a hug. He said, "I did a very good job." His teacher said, "He did great!" He even described his dinosaur to everyone at show-and-tell. Before we left he yelled "Bye. Bye. Bye." and then ran up to "Miss Shell" as he calls her and gave her a giant hug. In the car, he told me that Huey, the boy shown below at the other table who was in swimming lessons at the Alaska Club with our son brought a monster truck for show-and-tell. He said Mrs. Michelle was "very, very nice" to him. According to him, she helped him make a volcano with green play doh, played music like "The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round," and taught him how to pretend he's popcorn by doing "small pops, medium pops, and giant pops." We practiced this at home later. It's so fun that he can share with me the things that he learned. And I feel like I did a great job preparing him for this day.
