First Day of School!

We (okay, it's more like "I") made the decision to start Leah in pre-school this year... at home, so I have been working on compiling activities for different units (and swapping them with a friend who is doing the same). [I won't go into too much detail here since I covered much of this in an earlier post.]

To say Leah's been excited would be an understatement. On her first day of school (last Tuesday), she came downstairs to find her backpack sitting on the table, filled with all the materials for that day's lesson on butterflies. Not wasting any time, she unzipped the bag and pulled out the contents, eager for us to begin. "Not until after breakfast, kiddo." (Wouldn't you know it, that was the fastest she's eaten breakfast in a LONG time.)

With breakfast out of the way, it was time to get dressed (she picked out her outfit: pink tank and blue plaid shorts), take the first day of school photo (she actually LET me take her picture. That hasn't happened in a while.), and begin our lesson: making a butterfly mask. We talked about how a butterfly's wings are symmetrical, and though the wings on her butterfly aren't, at least she had the right idea; there are flowers on both sides. Our first lesson didn't take too long, especially since we spread it out over the course of the day due to letting the paint dry, but that didn't diminish her enthusiasm.

Later that day, when Scott asked, "Leah, did you go to school today? What did you learn?" Leah replied, "No, Daddy. I didn't go to school. I did school at my house." Who'd have thought she'd pick up on such a slight difference?

Since that first day, we've "done school" two more times, and each day, Leah loves it (and let's be honest, so do I). Next time you see her, be sure to ask about the life cycle of a butterfly. I'm sure she'd willingly share her new-found knowledge. 

 Sept. 4, 2012 First Day of PSL (Pre-school Light)

 Painting half the butterfly mask before folding it in half to create the mirror image. (She was more interested in painting it all purple, which certainly made it easier to print on the other half.)

Butterfly girl!