detention

ok, a lot has happened since the beginning of june. none of which i've shared here and the guilt i feel is unbearable. i'm going to look back and wish i had record of these two very big months. i can't hope to fully recap it all in this post so i'll just start small and work backward over the next few weeks to get caught up.

thea started preschool on june 1st. we had been on the waiting lists of a couple schools since just before helen was born [better known as when i finally got my act together to focus on school, knowing i wouldn't have time once she arrived]. we got calls in the spring saying thea had been accepted by two of those schools but we went with our gut and held out for our first choice. as the months rolled on, we became agitated thinking she'd never get in. zack made a few trips to sweet talk, er, check in with the director and toyed with the idea of dropping off fresh scones to the office. luckily he didn't.

so when i got the call in late may that SHE WAS IN we were thrilled to say the least. start june 1? no problem! sign over my entire paycheck for three days a week? sure thing!! you're going to teach our child manners and discipline? you can have, oh let's see...WHATEVER YOU WANT. it's an understatement to say this school has it together and runs the tightest ship i've ever seen. i'm amazed every time i arrive and see 18 2-year-olds sitting quietly, legs crossed with hands in their laps.

thea took to school immediately. the teachers said over and over how impressed they were that she settled in like she's been there forever. she knew every one of her classmates' names after three days and talked about them non-stop when she got home. she was fully potty trained within two weeks of starting school and hasn't had an accident since.

i get the biggest kick out of her pretending to be a teacher when she's playing by herself at home as i have such vivid memories of doing this myself and also watching my sister do the same thing. could i really have a child old enough to do this now?? i often catch her reading to a circle of stuffed animals, using her 'teacher voice' and holding the book up in that way teachers do.

her inner boss has flourished, to put it mildly. tonight while i was cooking dinner, she marched downstairs and told me that her duck needed to go to the principal's office [and would i please be the principal?]. i asked her what could duck possibly have done to warrant a trip to the office? she said that he didn't sit criss-cross-applesauce on the thinking mat and was not listening to her. after a few minutes, i called her back saying duck clearly understood why his behavior wasn't acceptable and he was ready to rejoin the classroom. too late. miss thea had already called his mother who was on her way to pick him up. the girl doesn't mess around.

here is thea reading to one of her favorite students. she's not doing the whole teacher routine in this video - i'm trying to film it but it's like to trying to capture footage of the elusive mother lion with her cubs on safari in africa.