Preschool!

A few months ago I approached a couple friends with the idea of starting a cooperative preschool.  I had wanted to start getting Lucy involved in a more play groups and I also wanted to have a bit of a break during the day, so this seemed like a great way to get both of those things for free!  I don't know a ton of moms whose oldest is the same age as Lucy, but fortunately each of the other moms that I asked were excited to join and we were able to form a group.  We have 5 kids in our group
From left to right - Lucy, Ben (whose parents are in our small group), Ellie, Hallie and Addie (at least I think that's the order they are in, they are identical twins, so it's a little tricky telling them apart!)

The day went surprisingly well.  We decided that we would have "learning objectives" and a theme each week to try to give a little structure to our days.  My theme was "On the Farm" and I was in charge of teaching the letter A, number 1, the color red and the shape circle.  A lot to fit in, but we all agreed that our main focus would be having fun with the kids and getting lots of play time in.

So to fit all that in, here's what my day looked like:

• Welcome/Free play time
• Read two farm books, one of which was about an apple farm (apples worked out well - they are red, shaped like a circle, and start with A... boom)
• Looked for red paper apples throughout the house and then glued them to a tree
• Snack time (apples and cheese sticks and goldfish)

 

• Sang Old McDonald and Baa Baa Black Sheep
• Glued cotton balls onto 1 sheep
• Free play time in the back yard, the kids LOVED Ruthie and chasing after her.  We also got to look for red tomatoes in the garden, just like you would do on a farm (which worked out really well!)

We had a lot of fun, and Lucy has already been to two of the other houses and had a great time too.  It's definitely a lot of work when you have all of the kids at your house, but getting a bit of a break on my off weeks has totally made it worth it!

It has also been great practice for me to start getting used to the idea of Lucy being away from the house as we get closer and closer to the school years.  I'm so used to being able to influence every decision she makes and how she interacts with others, so it has been weird for me to lose control of that. I didn't realize how difficult it would be for me to leave her, but I'm learning to let go as each week passes!  I'm not going to lie though, I really do miss her when she is away.