Play School

Today was our first day at PlaySchool! Which is different than preschool. It's a parents-in-partnership program, held in a local church community room (no religious affiliation though). The school runs as a cooperative, twice a week in the mornings. Parents sign up to set up the various stations which are themed by art, gross motor skills, pretend play, quiet time etc. We started the day sitting in a circle, singing hello to everyone, counting and saying letters. While parents set up the stations, the kids pushed around tricycles. There were probably 15 kids/parent pairs. Then after the free-for-all station fun there was a snack (again, a parent volunteers to bring one), followed by playtime with mat, balls, slides etc. All the parents stay and help. Andrew was a rockstar. He tried everything, got along with everyone and loved each part. A few times he came looking for me to show me something fun he found, but never due to missing me (he's hardly an introverted, insecure type - quite the opposite which has its up and down sides.) It didn't seem to matter that we started mid-school year, we'll just keep going til June. Each day has different station activities and themes, so it will be fun to see what Andrew enjoys most. Today he was totally into the sand play and stickers. Not so into dress up or blocks. It will be nice to meet some more parents in the area - the class was heavy on 2 year olds, but accepts through school aged kids. The best part? Its $5/month! You read that right. This is why I love cooperatives, bartering etc. There's no reason that parenting has to break the bank.