A Mother's Heart is Her Child's Classroom

Two weeks ago I started a little home pre-school with two friends from church (who have docile little girls the same age as Calvin). We have it twice a week and rotate weeks between each house. This was my week to teach and I decided that I like taking Cal to preschool but I don't really like teaching it. Which may bode ill for my ambitions in the homeschooling direction.

Except I bet for homeschooling I don't have to clean like a madwoman the night before just so the other moms are assured that their children won't catch a disease or stick to the floor when they come or so their three-year-olds will be impressed with my housekeeping abilities.

(Incidentally, my biggest stress last weekend leaving the boys with someone at home while D and I enjoyed a weekend away was cleaning the house top to bottom before the babysitter came. What is that?!? My house isn't that bad, really. And what does she care...she'll be too busy with my boys to notice the linen closet is in disarray. Just like I am on a daily basis. Right? But the cleaning must be done.)

Last night the cleaning didn't happen and I felt really embarrassed this morning.

And then I taught this week about our five senses. Today was touch, smell and taste. The part I was most excited about and thought the kids would enjoy the most (being the mom of tactile-driven boys) was the touching table - full of objects to touch and squish and smear and smooth, etc.

One of the little girls started crying and seriously shrunk away to the other side of the room, when I told them to touch the jell-o and see what it felt like. And she had to wipe the tiniest drop of shaving cream off her pointer finger immediately after very tentatively touching it.

Calvin said the shaving cream felt like a cloud. That's my boy. Willing to get a little messy and poetic at the same time.

What I do like about this preschool situation is seeing Cal in a little bit of a social mix. He is very solicitous and big-brotherish to the "guests" (they are younger, but one is not littler than him) and very anxious for them to be comfortable and welcome and to show them his toys and books. Sometimes (OK, a lot of times) he is overbearing, but it comes from a good place and I think as he grows a bit and starts noticing social cues (if boys ever do that - wink), it will tone down a bit.

Anyway, today his effort to show Amelia around was introducing her to one of his favorite books - a science story about the birth and first few days of a dolphin, how it's mom takes care of it, how they swim in pods, etc. During their bit of free play time, I heard Cal tell Amelia, "Come sit here, and we can read this book. And I'll show you the page where the shark comes out of the murky depths."

The completely blank look on the little girl's face as she followed him to the couch anyway combined with Calvin's earnestness were priceless.