We (don't) hate math

When your kids get to preschool age, things start to get really fun. NOT all of the time. We still watch too much TV and trash the playroom and get on each others' nerves. But when your child becomes deeply interested in the world and able to communicate, there are so many fun things to do. Like math!

Foard has been really curious about numbers lately. He'll hold up his fingers for me to count (Mommy, guess how many this is? Seven! And if I take one away...six!). And he loves to count things like leaves and coins. So I searched the web for some preschool math activities. What did our parents do without the web? There's some great stuff out there that is right up his alley.

Today, we did this. And he loved it.

I made a number tray out of a muffin tin. I wrote numbers 1-12 on Post-its (Mommy, twelve is a big number. It makes me tired). Then we filled the holes with the correct number of beads. 

 I like these beads because they present opportunities for so many different games. After the first round of counting them in the tray, he made sure the colors in each tray were the same. We could also use them to spell numbers or words.

It was a great way to use his "big boy time," which is code for his sister is sleeping and I need something to do to entertain him. There are more great preschool math activities here, along with other educational games and activities. But really, what DID our parents do without the web?

Here We Come Preschool

I wasn't sure if this summer was ever going to come to an end. I mean, it was glorious and....LONG.  The lack of structure was nice at first but by August we were all climbing the walls. Don't we all love the beginning of school? The colorful school supplies lined up in stores remind us of cozy routine and the comfort of structure. We know that even in Charleston, where walking to the mailbox is still a sweaty endeavor, fall is just around the hot and buggy bend. 

My little ones don't quite know how to feel about the beginning of a new school year yet, so I was filled with anxiety for them. Will I always have jitters on the night before their first day of school? I felt exactly the way I did before my own first days: nervous, excited, full of anticipation, unsure what to expect.

My boy was just plain excited, as much about the new shoes he picked out as anything else.

He even wore them to breakfast. Did I mention that they are HUGE?

This year he will be eating lunch at school, which is a new thing. He picked out a Lightning McQueen lunch box and found a simple note inside today. He is not able to read yet but can recognize a few words and symbols like Mommy, <3, and Foard. Last year his favorite activity was the playground, and this year he can't wait to do art.

The girl was having a great morning until we got to her classroom. She skipped along with her brother, unsure what all the fuss was about but excited by the mood in the air.

It will take her awhile to adjust to school days, but I know she'll do it. She's a social little thing. She especially enjoyed our walk and picnic lunch in the Old Village during the hour between her pick-up and her brother's. (Seen on a chalkboard in a store window: "The things you take for granted, others are praying for.") I am looking forward to that rare regular hour with just her and me.

The first day of school is such a mixed bag of emotion. In addition to my happiness at having six hours a week all to myself for the first time in two years, of course I was sad to drop them both off. Mostly I think about how different they are from this time last year, and how much this school year will change them. Already they seem more mature than they did when I dropped them off. Is that possible? They'll be totally different kids in May, and I'll never be able to get these little guys back again.

My Brave Boy

Something about this picture really gets me. It's his first day of preschool. His face is full of uncertainty and apprehension. He clings to his bag wondering what waits for him inside those doors. His sister is resting comfortably in the carriage behind him; she gets to get back in the car.

He cried, and clung to me, and asked if I would stay with him or if we could just go home. But he ended up having a great day. That was three weeks ago. And now he loves school, loves his teachers, walks through those doors and doesn't even look back at me. He comes home every day singing new songs and carrying art projects. You should see our refrigerator, covered with dried bean letters and gluey, painted apples and a sunflower made from a paper plate. How can I ever throw any of his art away?

It has been a rough few weeks of parenting. No one is lying when they say the twos are hard. But when I think about the innocence of these preschool years, his excitement at learning the ABCs, taking his teddy bear to school for a picnic, his face when I pick him up at noon... I know that my heart will ache for these days someday.

Back to School

Is there anything better than back to school? When I was a student I loved going back to school for the fresh start it gave me and for the experience of shopping for and organizing school supplies. I had a desk in my room which I kept filled with bright pens, paper, paper clips - anything I could talk my mother into buying for me.

 via PBteen

When I taught fifth grade I loved back to school because I enjoyed getting my room ready and meeting my students for the first time. Fifth graders are so eager to learn, and again I loved starting the year with a clean slate (for them and for me). Now that I'm a mom, I look forward to back to school for the obvious reason - that I get to farm my older child out for six hours a week so I can grocery shop alone, shower without wondering whether he's in the other room hurting himself or breaking my china, and spend some one-on-one time with my five month-old who never gets me all to herself. I also look forward to getting back to having some structure to our weeks and of course to watching my son delight in learning new things. 

My oldest will be starting the two year-old program at our church two mornings a week. His teacher sent him this sweet note welcoming him to her classroom. It came in the mail addressed to him, which he of course loved.

And here's my little guy beginning Mother's Morning Out last year.