Summer School

Last Tuesday was Raya's first day of Summer School! It was her first day of any kind of school. She'll start Preschool in the fall at an elementary school down by the beach and I'm so glad we got her into this summer program before hand! Its through the Huntington Beach Rec Program and the teachers are very sweet. Ms. Raya LOVES it. She's been asking for months to go to school so when the day finally came she was pumped! School is on Tuesdays and Thursdays form 9-12. From the schedule they gave me the first hour is free play, the 2nd hour is sit-down time, story/song time and snack time and the last hour is outside play.

When I picked her up the first thing out of her mouth was "Wow Mama, that was fun! Can I do it again?" When I was signing her out one of her teachers told me Raya got 2 stickers because "she really turned things around." Hmmmm. I didn't ask questions (I was in line to sign Raya out and there were lots of parents waiting to talk to her) And she also didn't feel the need to explain anymore, so I chalked it up to being an "adjusting to school" thing. Day 2 when I picked her up she was crying because she didn't get a sticker...and this time the teacher had a chat with me :) Let me start by saying Raya is doing great. She's loving every minute of her time at school and always asks to go back. She's also never done anything like this, i.e.: school, having a teacher, transitioning to new activities when the teacher tells her to, etc. Ms. Monica explained that Raya was having a tough time with "sit-down time" and when they were sitting down reading Raya was up dancing and rolling around and then when it was "dance time" Raya was off at the other end of the room doing her own thing, hence the "didn't get a sticker" part. Her teacher wasn't concerned, just wanted me to know this was why Raya was upset. And it all made complete sense to me. Raya is incredibly active and is in a room with a TON of different toys, games, craft tables, etc. I totally get why she has a hard time sitting down for story time. We are also working on listening on a daily basis (or hourly ;) Everything I've read says the whole listening thing is part of being 3years old. And my 3year old parent group on BabyCenter is loaded with posts about other parents struggling with the same thing. I don't think Raya is a bad listener at all. She's made a ton of progress since she first starting "doing her own thing" (not listening ;) Its on-going with her. Some days are AMAZING. And some days she's lucky I don't beat kids. I kid ;) But seriously, she has tough days and it makes it even tougher that I'm pregnant and can't drink. HAHAHA!  3 is wayyyyy harder than 2. LOL!!! I wasn't at all scarred by the Terrible Twos. Raya never really went through that. But 3 is another story. I remember a few other Moms mentioning 3 is so much harder than 2, and I'm officially on that team. So needless to say, her teachers have joined in on the "fun" and hopefully by the time preschool starts in the Fall we'll have made some progress.

Day 2

Day3

When I picked her up today (Day 3) she was crying again about not getting a sticker. All weekend I talked to her about listening to her teachers, sitting down for story time, doing what the other kids were doing, etc. And every time she told me "Ok." or "Right, Mama." She understood what I was saying and I really thought today would be a bit different, but it wasn't :) She did do a teeny bit better. Her teacher felt so bad that she couldn't give her a sticker, but I totally understand and really appreciate her patience. Today she told me Raya would run from her. That's annoying. I know she's testing her teacher....but its still a bit frustrating. She never runs from me, but I'm also working with her constantly and she knows better at this point. She definitely ran from me a few months ago, so it took me working with her (and taking things away, or timeout, etc) I just hope its not like this the whole summer! Its only Day 3, so I'm very hopeful. But I'm not gonna lie, I've already started brainstorming the "Thank-you"presents I'm going to give her teachers on the last day. LOL!! And even while crying and walking back to the car, without a sticker, she still asked to go back "tomorrow." That's all the matters to me :)


She also started swim lessons this week. They're every night for 2 weeks. They're with an actual instructor this year (meaning I don't have to get in!). Her instructor, James, is great. She loves being in the pool and cried when class was over. She did spend a lot of her waiting time letting go of the edge and tippy-toeing around the edge. This was not what she was suppose to be a doing, but she got a kick out of the fact that she could touch the bottom. She also likes to go underwater. She actually thinks its pretty hilarious. The lifeguard does not think its funny. At all. Lol. She was very sweet with Raya and incredibly patient. But she too worked hard for her money last night. I feel like all the teachers Raya will have this year will need a Thank You gift ;) There are only 3 kids in her class. Well actually 4, but girl #4 refused to get in the water. So its almost like private lesson. And one of the other Moms is super fun to sit with, so its a win-win! The main concern is keeping Raya holding onto the edge when James is helping another kid. Ohhhh, my sweet little 3yr old!

Ps- my spell check was not working so sorry about the misspelled words :)