School at Home

No, we're not taking Kari out of preschool or switching to homeschooling. She just had another Friday with no school. (I really think we should get a discount or refund for all these non-school days they have. She only goes twice a week!) Initially, Kari was disappointed that she didn't get to go to school, but then her face lit up, and she said, "Mommy! I have an idea! We can have school at home!" Sounded like a fun idea to me, so I immediately started thinking about how we could structure our official school-at-home day, all the things we could do. Well, Kari's next comment let me know why she wanted to have school at home: "Ok, Mommy, we're going to need our snack packs..." Food (specifically Go-Gurt and apple juice) was really her only motivation. I consented, making both Kari and Joel very excited, and then I suggested we do the rest of school, too, not just snack time, and they decided that would be ok.
I learned more yesterday about what happens in Kari's classroom than I have the entire last four months. (Eventually I would like to be able to volunteer in my kids' classes, but with little ones at home and one of them still nursing, it's not really feasible right now.) Every Thursday and Friday when we pick her up from school, I ask her about her day--what did you do today, who did you talk to, what did you learn, what was fun, what was interesting, did you do something new? I get very little information but manage to glean little tidbits now and then. She's been holding out on me!

I started our day beside our little chalkboard easle saying, "Good morning, class!" and Kari right away started in with the "Mrs. Weber usually does..." routine. I found out as we went through our morning of school-at-home that Kari knows the Pledge of Allegiance, both to the Christian flag and the US flag. She knows a song about the days of the week and another song that taught her the months of the year, in the correct order, of course. I learned that every day the teacher sends someone to the window to report on the weather. I learned that some kids need help opening their snacks, and that you have to "raise a quiet hand," and then the teacher comes to assist. All kinds of information came seeping out yesterday, and Kari had fun telling Joel and I how school was supposed to go. Joel was so cute. He acted shy and a little intimidated, just like he has when we've gone into Kari's class for parties and such. He giggled and did whatever Kari told him to do. We had "circle time" "work time," "snack time," and "free choice time." Then they were done.