Will I Cry?

Place your bets, folks! We had Teagan's Open House / Meet the Teacher night last night. She got to meet the teacher for her aftercare room and her pre-K room. She got to see some of the other kids and do some crafts (I had soooo many observations during that time). Had snacks and just a general time to ask questions, make sure paperwork is complete, etc. She is very excited! I haven't gotten sad about it- yet. Will I cry on Monday? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe I'll cry tears over my baby becoming a school girl. Maybe I'll cry tears because my boy won't understand his sister not being with him. Maybe I'll cry because I can't go to preschool. Who knows! First, my observations. And I'm certain the teacher was making mental notes on this front, too. I was so interested to watch and see how the other parents interacted with their kids!! We rarely have the opportunity to see other family units set in the same setting we are in, you know? When we first got to Ms. Mindi's class, there were 2 tables set up. These tables each held a project. First, Teagan decorated a little human cut out (looked more like a squat gingerbread person) that had her name on it. She will use this to check in and out for the day. Next project was to make a "first week" of school necklace. There were little kits with pre-cut pieces of foam to glue together to make a box of crayons, essentially. This is where it got interesting. To see which parents sat right by the child and directed them on which color to use or made suggestions on how to color the little person. To see which parents stood back and let their child be independent in their decision making. To see which children looked to their parents for guidance and which children sat and worked alone. The name thing was easy for the kids to do on their own but the crayon box name tag required adult assistance. That was where I really observed things! Some parents were very concerned with how the necklace looked, how much glue was used, etc. When it came to writing the child's name on the crayon box, some parents did it themselves, some offered to help, some let the child go to town. It was fascinating. I don't place any judgements. Don't misunderstand. I just loved watching these different styles of parental involvement and seeing how that played out with the kids and their decision making. Here's how it broke down with Teagan. For the little person, she was completely independent. Mindi explained what it was and that was it. Teagan found her named person, found a spot at the table, grabbed a crayon and started right in- never gave me or Jeff a second glance. She worked very intently and was very focused for most of her time at that table. She created a specific look for her person- much attention to detail as she colored specific layers around the edges before starting on the middle. Once she was finished, she placed it on the board by the door- she was very proud of her work and Jeff and I were proud of her! For the name tag necklace, Teagan and I worked together. We opened the packet and I asked if she wanted to follow the little sheet of directions or if she wanted to figure it out on her own. She chose to have me read the directions. So I would read it and then she would interpret it and do the work. I only helped if she asked me to do so. She only asked for help with the glue on a squiggly striped piece. She started out writing her name but the space was limited and I think she was unsure of fitting the letters in so she did the "T" and the "E" and I did the rest. She explored her classroom, found the dollhouse, asked her teacher about the reward chart! And look at this... a schedule for the first weeks of school...

3 short days... Monday morning... no turning back... What do you think? Will I cry?