bear has been attending a lovely pre-school since last september. as some people may recall from my facebook statuses, it was a difficult transition for bear to make. there were buckets of tears and gallons of “i don’t wanna’s” and hours of fighting getting him strapped into the dreaded car seat.
but, then one day it stopped being a battle and he started asking to go to pre-school. in the mornings he was easier to dress and get in the car, and there were no tears. well, certainly not about going to school, perhaps about having to wear shoes or whatever.


bear was tremendously lucky as he had two amazing, loving and committed teachers who helped him find his independence. remember, he was only two-and-a-half when he started with a brand new baby brother at home and mama who had been away after the birth. plus, we were still in the throws of toilet training, so we were all quite emotional. bear’s teachers acknowledged his sweet, quiet side and let him be silent for months. apparently he never spoke until after christmas! shocking!
but then the flood gates opened, even at home and all of these songs and stories about his friends at school came rushing out. bear had found confidence in himself to share with us parts of his life that do not really include us. pre-school is his own thing.

bear and his friend lil’C on the last day of school on thursday, standing proudly by their hooks; bear dashing out the front door.

well, today after months of heading out on tuesdays and thursdays, was the big GRADUATION celebration. it was the loudest, cutest and most chaotic event ever! unfortunately due to the rain we were not able to celebrate outside at the park, but were stuck inside.

first the kids and caregivers got to run some morning beans out in the gym. there were plenty of toys for all the kids to play with.

check out the beautiful hand collage the kids made; oddly, bear’s hand was missing two fingers!

 the kids put on a show for the adults. with the help of one of their AMAZING teachers they sung a few songs, which made me a little teary eyed. the cuteness was so overwhelming!

at the end of the performance each pre-schooler received a t-shirt with the school’s name on it and a bucket and shovel. pretty fancy stuff; bear was over the moon!


i’ve tried to explain to bear that he will not be going to pre-school for a few months as it is summer. he seems very confused. he’ll be back in the fall and won’t start real school until the fall, of 2012, which i am secretly relieved about. i’m not quite ready for him to grow up so fast!