Observations of a 3K Substitute Teacher

Jackson and Harris' school, Little School, wisely asks parents to volunteer substitute teach when regular teachers are out, and today I was lucky enough to be in a classroom... I had the BEST morning!! I got to spend it with 11 three year olds, and I got a glimpse of what my children have been doing every day.


One of my main duties was potty duty... I had to make sure that each of them went potty at least once, and some of them several times. Some advice... make sure your child's underpants are in good shape. Almost every single child showed me their underpants (I didn't ask, I swear!) and told me all about them. I heard about the Disney Princesses, Thomas, bows, polka dots, robots, and dinosaurs. Cracked me up!


Children love preschool... they were all so happy to be there, and each new activity was as exciting as the last. We read a book about butterflys and their lifecycle, and it was incredible to see it through the eyes of a three year old. Their eyes were huge, and they all had tons of questions about what they were learning.

I always hear this, but I know now it is true... our children behave completely different at school than they do at home. They were all so good, sat in their chairs, cleaned up their toys, lined up quietly... I know there are exceptions to the rule, but I really was so impressed.

I have always appreciated my boys' teachers, but now I understand a little bit of why they do it... it is such a great feeling to have someone elses child excited to show me their project or to watch the wonder in 11+ children's eyes as we watched a caterpillar munch on leaves. It really was such a great day, and I am looking forward to doing it again soon.

Pets

Last night, Jackson made a request for a new pet. He wants a chinchilla. Named Jack. Then, there was another request that followed. For an anaconda. Named Tommy.

To top it off, this morning he rattled off a whole list of new pets he wants. A bird. A puppy. A kitten. Two fish. A hamster. A bunny rabbit.

All reasonable requests, but he wasn't too happy when I explained that we had three pets and don't currently need more. I'm not sure where this has come from, but I am not really up to being caretaker of a petting zoo!

He's not giving up, though, and is trying to be persuasive. So, be sure to watch your little ones closely next time you are here, just in case Tommy has gotten out of his cage...

First Day of School

Jackson and Harris had their first day of school yesterday! Jackson has started the 4's class, five days a week, and Harris is in the 2's class, three days a week.
Both were excited, but a little nervous as well. Jackson came home talking about the anaconda he made, and Harris came home with a Little School school bus that he painted.
As far as I can tell, both boys like their teachers and their class (both of them have a Miss Kelly as their teacher!). Harris' teacher told me that he has a crush on the music teacher, Miss Jodie... that he followed her around wherever she went and did whatever she did!
I think we are off to a great start... I am looking forward to all of the fun Little School times ahead of us this year! Start thinking about your lobster orders...

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

The Big Trip

Last week, my dad came down to retrieve the boys and me... we had almost a week vacation in Ohio. I hadn't been back in over three years, and I really wanted the boys to see where I was from.

I was looking forward to every second of the trip... except the flight. I was sure that Jackson was going to be terrified, and that he was going to have a major melt down. I did everything I could to try to prepare him for the trip... we talked about it lots and even visited the airport. I told him about all of the exciting things we were going to do, even promised him a walk down to Penguin Palace for ice cream once we got there! Still, I was nervous for him. However, he proved me wrong. He was perfect. It was no big deal. The only "issues" we had were when they took his shoes and his stroller at security. Really, it seemed as if he had been doing this for years!
Harris was unscathed by the whole thing, too! We were suprised and thrilled that he was able to sit still for two hours straight!
We made it!

Our first morning there, we went for a boat ride on the Maumee River with my aunt and uncle, John and Julie, cousins Bailey and Caroline, and their German exchange student Victor. I hadn't seen them in years, so it was great to catch up. We went towards Maumee to see Dad's condo by boat, then back toward downtown Toledo to eat lunch. It was an overcast day, but it was still a beautiful trip on the river.

The view of Dad's condo building from Progress.This is the view from Dad's condo. Across the river is Perrysburg, the town in which I grew up.After dinner that night, I followed through on my Penguin Palace promise and strolled them down the street for some yummy soft serve ice cream... of course, they loved it!

COSI

Our second day there, we hit the ground running. That morning, we picked up Uncle Mike and Dean and headed to COSI, an amazing hands-on children's science museum.

Dean is a COSI expert, so he was thrilled to show Jackson the ropes.
This is a record-breaking K-Nex roller coaster... all three boys were enthralled.
Uncle Mike showed the boys how it was done!There were exhibits there for all ages. This one was a medical center, equipped with X-rays, crutches, computers for billing, and an ambulance!
These three boys played so well together the entire time. Both Jackson and Harris were excited to see what Dean would do next, what else they could learn from him. I loved them laughing together and playing cars and coloring... I so hope we can get them together more often!
They all had a blast, and I don't think we really even explored half of it! Just another reason to go back...