Preschool

I haven't had a chance to say much about the preschool co-op that we did for Nate this past year.  We loved it and are so glad we participated.  This was a really easy group of kids. We had 6 kids for most of the year and then dropped to 5.  My friend said that she thought it worked so well because we didn't have any oldest children in the group :).  She could be right.  They really hardly ever fought or got too crazy.  It got a little trickier when Elijah would no longer nap during preschool and I had to manage him and the kids but it really wasn't bad.  Maybe it's because I'm a lot more laid back than I used to be and I recognize that even if they just spend the whole time playing, that's still some good socialization time right there. :)

Anyway, we did it twice a week for two hours each time.  We had a lot of fun.  Here are some of the highlights:

They loved going on a walk to collect leaves and make these leaf turkeys for Thanksgiving:

Snack time!

Speaking of snack time, I pulled out these placemats way back from Natalie's preschool for veggie faces again.  They loved it, too!

I loved the games they would come up with during play time.
They often involved lightsaber wars:

Here are some pictures I stole from my friends during their preschool days:

That N is hanging proudly in his room, now. :)

Some more highlights:
-When I taught about magnets we learned how a compass works and then used the compass on my phone to follow the clues on a treasure map I made.  I wasn't sure it would work but they were enthralled and followed every step until we made it to a Hershey's bar treasure.  That was a big hit.
-I found a simple activity on Pinterest around Valentine's day where you write each upper and lowercase letter on a half of a paper heart, draw a simple picture of something that starts with that letter on the back, and then cut it in half.  Then you lay them out and the kids match the upper and lowercases.  Then they turn it around to see what the picture is.  They loved that game so we played it a few times.  It was such a simple idea that I thought was great.
-We ended the year with a fun pool party at our house.  I didn't get any pictures but the kids had a great time.

Now, on to deciding about next year.  Nate is a September birthday so he won't start kindergarten yet.  He can go to transitional kindergarten which is nice because it's free but I am hoping for something that is a little less than the full kindergarten time.  I really want him to have more time at home with Eli and I before he's off to school every day.  We'll see what we decide.

Nate has learned a lot this year.  His reading is getting better and better, despite his frequent protests to sound out things at times.  The only time he really wants to practice is in the car when we pick up the girls.  He will work on some sight words then.  Entire books still intimidate him, though.  He still loves to read with me and especially loves Elephant & Piggie books and any Star Wars book he can find at the library (I can't even tell you the number of times I've fallen asleep trying to slog through one of those).

He is great at math and can count to 100 (and beyond).  He loves to learn and especially loves animals like his sisters before him.  The PBS show Wild Kratts is a big favorite, along with Sesame Street.  One of my favorite things is to hear him giggling while watching Super Grover on TV.  That guy always makes me laugh, too. :)

I sure love my Nate and feel so lucky that I get to be his mom.