I'm not sure how three years managed to go by quite that fast, but our little Nate started school on Friday. There was an open house so the kids could all meet the teacher and check out the fun before the official transition begins next week. Here we are squinting into the sun on our First Day Of School (I am a bad photo taker even when I'm not the one taking the photo):
We got there early enough to have some time to revisit our old friend the playground slide,
and then it was off to our classroom, where everything exceeded my wildest hopes. Nate jumped right in and started building with some blocks, telling the teacher that he was building a tower. This same kid who used to cling to me like glue during Mommy and Me trotted off to play without looking back for a good fifteen minutes, and he spent the whole morning trying out every last toy in the room (dinosaurs, trains, coloring, a dollhouse, the kitchen, a solar system thingie), coming over to bring me to see stuff every so often. For the most part, though, he was totally happy on his own, even in the middle of the bedlam that results from 18 brand new preschoolers and 30 or so of their parents all congregating in a little classroom. At one point when I looked over, some other little guy in a green shirt was hugging Nate. I love that kid already.
They had a rousing "boker tov" song where each kid was supposed to say his name when the teacher pointed to him, and Nate, who used to refuse to say his name until I spelled it under my breath, was so enthusiastic about introducing himself that he jumped in when a kid before him hesitated. Finally, instead of insisting that I sit next to him at Shabbat, he ran off to sit with new friends and totally ignored me, focusing instead on the rainbow challah that they served to mark the first day:
All in all, Nate had a fantastic time and is really excited about going back on Monday. (And every day until he graduates from an MD/PhD program, but he hasn't realized that yet).
Just in time for school, his reading is really taking off. He's now pulling books off the shelf and just reading them. He got a card from Bubbe and a postcard from his new teacher this week, and he read both of them aloud, getting pretty much every word. This afternoon, he sounded out the word "pedestrian," and the best part is that he has figured out that we get excited when he reads really hard words, because he is super proud of himself, giggling and beaming the whole time, as though he knows that that's a word that's going to get a big reaction.
Jonah is also starting school very soon, although not quite preschool. We signed up for a music class at Nate's school on Mondays, so that after we drop off Nate, we can stay to rock out with the other babies. Since Jonah loves other babies more than anything in the world, I'm very excited to see how he likes it. He's becoming quite the social little person; his new things are showing me whatever toy he's picked up and initiating game after game of chase (which he initiates thusly: he crawls a few feet away, then looks back at me with this fantastic look of frenzied anticipation, then giggles and darts away, then looks back, etc., until I start chasing him around the house).
Also, just so I don't forget when I wonder when the crazy eating started: Thursday. Breakfast. Jonah, 9 months old, eats 2 pancakes, 1.5 eggs, and a yogurt. Friday. Breakfast. Jonah eats 2 pancakes, a banana, and a yogurt. Saturday. Breakfast. Jonah eats 2 pancakes, a huge amount of mango, and a yogurt. In other words, much more than I eat. How is that possible for a person who weighs 20 pounds?
Fantastic! I'm thrilled to hear that Natey's diving right in. And let me just say how cute he is in his little crocs!
Rainbow challah?? How schmancy!
Posted by: Kim | September 11, 2006 at 01:38 PM