Tip-Toe-Tap

Is what Tess calls tic-tac-toe. Though whatever the name, I still can't convince her to follow the rules. She has her own objectives.

Tess Starts Preschool

Though I imagined that Tess would start school this fall, or probably summer, our family needs have changed recently, and I decided to enroll Tess in the nearby preschool two afternoons a week. I didn't expect there to be space, but as chance would have it, someone had just left, opening a space. When I suggested the idea to Tess, it took about one minute of explaining before she told me, "Yes, OK, I want to go. I want to go to school."

Monday we went to enroll, and Tess was upset that she couldn't start that instant. Tuesday morning she woke up talking about school to everyone she met. She was READY.

Turns out our first day was a party day for the class. They have been learning about multiculturalism, being an extremely diverse group of kids, and yesterday they each dressed up in some outfit representing their family's heritage and put on a short performance for the parents. Then we ate a potluck of party food.

Tess needed me to stay with her when we arrived. I suggested that I could leave a couple of times, and she instantly burst into tears, so I stayed. She was happy to go join the class, and often left me, but I could see the stress on her face and how she just needed to know I was there. Her eyes followed everything, taking it all in, trying so hard to follow along as if she knew just what to do.

When I told Tess about the day's activities, I explained that she didn't have to do the dance if she didn't want to. But she insisted, "No! I want to dance with the kids!" So she joined in despite having no previous experience. She watched the teacher and kids for cues, and did about as well as any of them--two and three year-olds being distractible and all. :)

I video taped the three songs:

They enter. (Tess knew she was supposed to wave to the parents. The hair chewing is a new nervous habit that has developed. Guiding preschoolers is not for the faint of heart.)


Second Song:


Third Song:


After the performance, Tess stayed with me, but then started to venture out to approach some of the kids. She would walk up to someone and start just telling a long story about some animal she knew or her cousin Ida. The other children would look at her strangely, wondering what she could be talking about, but Tess didn't seem to notice. And when we were putting on our coats, Tess approached one girl and gave her a hug, which surprised me and the little girl. But the girl recovered and hugged Tess back, making us all happy.

So now we are all looking forward to Thursday. Yay! School!