Friday, July 31, 2009

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?

14 comments:

Boozy Tooth said...

Yeah, you'll cry. Little misty eyes full of pride, wonder, amazement and love. Totally appropriate.

darsden said...

Yes, ma'am you will cry and I think I will cry too. Her lil coloring is beautiful, good googly moogly at the other parents instructing their kids how to do things..uhmmm KIDs need to be their own creative lil persons.. Looks a lil busy for that age on the schedule..

Ashli Moore said...

I got misty eyed just reading the post so if you don't cry (I think you will, but maybe not in front of her), I probably will!

Please pass to Teagan:
So proud of you Teagan! You are such a special girl.

Anonymous said...

Awwwwwwwww! I think you will bawl! Congrats, T! This is such an exciting time for her!

Mary Ellen said...

My money's on a few tears.

What a gorgeous - and talented - girl you have there. It sounds like she has all the skills she needs to be successful at school. Mommy, on the other hand, might need some emotional support!

Teacher Tom said...

Cry, baby, cry!

We raise 'em up to set 'em free.

Cry, baby, cry!

Tom said...

Wow, what a milestone! This is such a fun time. I wish I could squish my older kids down and cram them through pre-k all over again.

You'll cry, but just a little. And then you'll have her back later and she'll have a ton of things to tell you. And she'll feel like a really big kid, out on her own.

Alison said...

If I were you, I would cry, but only because I didn't get to do the crafts. No fair!

When you do cry, just tell Teagan you miss school so very much you can't stand it. Maybe she will ask the teacher to give you some homework to make you feel better!

Zach will of course be exhilirated that he gets some full-on Zach Time to be all the Zach he can be. And work on some elaborate practical jokes. (Oh, wait, that's MY brother...never mind.)

Garret said...

I think you'll cry.

Joanie said...

I love YES!! You will most certainly cry!

Mrs4444 said...

You are a great mom. I love your style. You'll see that kind of parent through all the years; it IS fascinating.

I did not cry a bit. I was happy for Kyle and happy for me (sorry). Now, high school? Close to crying. Wrote a similar post today about Kendall going to high school...

Lynn Freeman said...

Oh yes....there will be crying. And not just the crying at school. You'll have another bout during the day sometime as you wonder how she's doing, what she's doing and how she grew up so fast. She's gonna do great! And so will you mom!

Amy said...

I don't remember if I cried when my kids went off to preschool. Kindergarten, yes. But preschool, I'm not sure. From what I know of you here on your blog, I'll say that you'll get a little teary-eyed. Hope preschool is a great experience for both you and Teagan.

Dawn said...

My kids are in high school and middle school....I STILL cry. I believe you will, too!