Year End Preschool Party

Last Friday my wife and I went with our daughter and her two grandma's to her year end party at the preschool she's been attending. My little one has been attending twice a week since February, but we don't hear much about what takes place in class because, well, she can't really tell us.

So I was really excited to witness a bit of what goes on in the classroom. When we walked in, the party was already in full swing. Various teaching assistants were helping the kids to make necklaces and little caps with stickers on them. Another assistant had a small tub of water with toy animals like fish and octopi to play with. As I made the rounds to all the different stations with my daughter, she got one on one attention with each of the teaching assistants who knew her by name and were excited to see her.

They mentioned that they felt my daughter had been holding out on them when it came to signing. They saw her signing to my wife and I, but said she doesn't do that during class. That seemed pretty strange to me because my daughter was naming the animals in the tub of water and asking for food while I was there with her. I wonder if she doesn't think that her teachers and classmates understand sign. They do, of course, and they even sign to her in class. I wonder if my daughter just gets shy. Who knows?

After the activities, the kids sang some songs with actions. Most of the kids in the class aren't vocal so basically the teachers sang and helped the students with the signs. It was very fun to watch. They did a song about alligators and one about going on a bear hunt.

Then it was certificate time. Each child was called up by the teacher to get a certificate of completion and a little prize. Each one got a round of applause from all the parents and grandparents in the room.

It was a really nice morning. I especially enjoyed getting a glimpse of my daughter's educational environment and the excellent teachers and teaching assistants that work with her so much. Before we left she demanded to give them all hugs. She even opened up a little bit and signed "love you" to several of them as well.