Signs of Preschool Readiness, Exhibit A

I think Sody is going to be a pretty well-adjusted little kid. In general her adaptability in various situations, different places, or meeting new people is great...she pretty much goes with the flow, and seems to like doing just that. But my latest piece of evidence comes from last week when we visited a preschool. Now before you get excited, this was not a preschool visit for her. I do not have my sh** together nearly enough to have even started searching for preschools for the dear (which induces total panic in me, especially when you hear of insanity like mothers going on preschool tours WHEN THEY ARE STILL PREGNANT...not to mention the cost of preschool is basically going to be like having another rent to pay) but we were tagging along with her friend Kyler who is about to start at said preschool. Just a quick visit of an hour or so to play and hang out and check out the lay of the land. It was as eye-opening for me as it was Sody, as this was the very first preschool we have gone to together.

In a nutshell, I loved it. Loved the house it was located in, loved the location, loved the kids, loved the mix of employees, loved the outdoor space for the kids, loved the tiny little english muffin pizzas they got for snacktime, and *really* loved how well behaved the kids were: everyone goes as a group to line up and wash hands, then everyone sits nicely and waits their turns for snack, and everyone raises their hands quietly if they want more. It is ADORABLE. I wanted to hang out all day. I want to get a job there.

And guess what, Sody loved it even more than I did. My first indication was that as soon as we walked in to the place, I basically lost her. We were talking to the director a bit, hi-how-are-you-blah-blah-blah, and before I knew it Sody had blasted off to the backyard where all the action was. She jumped in to joining the other kids' play so fast that when I found her she was over around the side of the house, trying to get onto a bike with another girl. Absolutely no qualms about leaving my side, about who all these kids were, about what this magical place was. She just jumped in and tackled it all. She tried everything out, sat with Kyler for snacktime, answered the kids who asked her what her name was. (p.s. Do you get to hear a lot of not-prompted-by-adults conversation between preschoolers? It is pretty awesome. Non-sequiturs like you wouldn't believe.)

The visit reinforced for me that she is going to adore going to preschool. Sure, it will be different when I actually leave and when she actually goes to a school for many hours of the day...but this was a good start. A good sign. I am definitely going to be the one who is crying more when I drop her off on her first day, whenever that day is. The best part of our trip was when she saw us getting ready to leave, putting on jackets and backpacks and gathering things. She was across the yard playing with some block type things with other kids and she looks over and goes, "Not ready, Mommy." Ha! Not ready to go. Want to play more.

I know, Babe...I am not ready for you to go, either...