One Week Down...

Well, we're one week into the new preschool year and so far, so good. Afton is in the 4 year old class this year. She goes 5 days a week from 9 to 1, and she LOVES it. I asked her if she had fun on her first day and she said "It was awesome!" Miss Ashley is her teacher, and she knows Afton inside and out. I've been working at the school for 2 1/2 years now - and Ashley and her husband Troy have become really good friends with Joe and I. Their daughter Jordan is one of Afton's favorite babysitters. They work on a color code in Afton's class this year, Green means you had a great day, Yellow means you had a difficult time listening and Red means you had a REALLY difficult time listening. Afton got green on Monday and Tuesday, came home with her first (and so far her only) yellow on Wednesday, and greens again on Thursday and Friday. I'm really proud of her for working so hard to get those greens! When Joe picked her up on Wednesday she asked if they could stop at McDonald's for an ice cream cone. When he said "Well, what color did you get today?" She hung her little head and said "Yellow", so Joe asked if she thought that yellow deserved an ice cream cone and she said (very sadly, I'm sure) "I guess not". So on Thursday when she showed me her green and I told her how proud I was of her and how great that was, all she could say was "Yeah, because now my daddy will buy me an ice cream cone!!" I told Joe that he better make sure he has a couple dollars in his pocket from here on out, because in Afton's mind Green = McDonald's Ice Cream Cones! Hey - whatever works!! She already has a homework project that she's been working on, and she loves it! She asks me to copy extra worksheets out of the curriculum books for her to do, and she's tried giving homework to me and Joe, also!! I know all parents say this, but she is so smart! She's recognizing rhyming words, she's learning to add simple numbers, and she's a whiz at mazes and puzzles. She's growing up so fast - I can't believe that in 4 months we'll be attending open houses for kindergarten and in just one short year Afton will be a kindergartener...where does the time go?!

I'm having a pretty great time in Preschool this year as well. I'm teaching the 3 year olds this year, so I have 6 of the kids that I had in my 2 year old class last year and 3 new children. They are a smart group of kids!! I have found that I love lesson planning - as long as I have plenty of time and don't wait until the last minute - and the kids seem to enjoy the activites we've been doing. They are excited about school and are a great group of kids...here's hoping they can keep it up for the rest of the year!