Preschool Update

We are well into the preschool year and I thought I'd give a quick update on how Riley is doing in the classroom.  We had a very rough start with crying and screaming fits the first four days of school.  Day one Riley made me stay an hour into the day before I literally snuck out of the room.  The next few days there was crying and even some screaming at the top of her lungs as we left.  We heard, "but I love you" and "but I miss you" each day.  According to the teachers, she eventually calmed down and had a great day. Every afternoon she would be very happy to fill us in on the fun she had.  Finally, we were all stressed to the max that we set a reward:  No crying, whining, or clinging at drop off on Thursday and Daddy would take her to "Old McDonald's" to get lunch.  Thankfully, it worked.  The following week we set the reward: All week with no whining, crying, or clinging and Daddy would take her to Old McDonald's again.  It worked like a charm.  Week three we didn't offer a reward and she didn't bring it up.  So, who says a little Old McDonald's can't solve your problems?

Since those first couple weeks Riley has been doing great.  She is excited for school, has made some friends, and is really starting to show an interest in reading.  She's always had a love for books, but now we hear her constantly reading the letters of words and making the beginning sounds.  She's recognizing her numbers more regularly and putting together sequences of numbers.  The one thing we really worried about was her lack of socialization with the other kids.  Every day we ask her who she played with and what she enjoyed.  Over the last couple weeks she will usually name one little girl, Ryenn, and then a couple others that she plays with. 

This year, the school has offered some add-on programs.  On Tuesdays, Riley attends music class for a half an hour after school.  On Wednesdays, she attends Spanish class for a half an hour after school. And on Thursdays, she attends Kid Power (a children's bible study program) for 45 minutes after school.  She loves all of the programs and looks forward to them each week. 

We've had little homework so far.  She's had to decorate a picture frame and put a picture of her family in it.  She's also had to bring an item from home every Thursday that starts with the letter of the week.  Our first big homework project came this week.  Riley is the Star of The Week.  We had to find pictures, her favorite book, her favorite toy, bring snack one day, and Mommy and Daddy had to write a letter to the class about Riley.  What fun!