Preschool Progress

Preschool has been going pretty well.  Claire seems to be learning that even if we do drop her off that we will be back to get her shortly.  She still gets anxious and cries when being dropped off, but usually the tears stop within 5 minutes (or sooner).  The teachers have learned a lot about Claire in just a few short weeks. 

They have learned that Claire likes her own space and does not like to be crowded or feel like someone is in her space.  If she is upset, she does not want you to come to her and comfort her.  She wants to just be alone.  They have learned that she likes to play with the musical type toys.  Anything that makes music.  They have even “claimed” some maracas as theirs so they can always be in the room to distract Claire when needed.  They even did an art project this week tailored to the fact Claire loves music – they made “tambourines” with paper plates taped together with dried pasta in them.  She loves it!

I think one teacher has learned that if she just starts singing (and my mom says she has a great singing voice) that Claire will be happy!  They have discovered that some of her favorite songs are ABCs, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Wheels on the Bus (or Wheels on the “Butt” as Claire says).  Yesterday they commented on how she loves music so much, that she needed to join the church choir.  I attribute her love for music to Nurse Marie.  When Claire was in the NICU, Nurse Marie found her a CD player and some soft musical CDs that she placed in her crib to drown out the loud beeping and noises of the NICU.  I really think this is why music is Claire’s soothing mechanism for everything. 

Her teachers have learned that Claire does not like change and has a hard time with change and transition.  She cries when they leave the room to go outside, has a great time outside, then she cries when they have to come back inside. 

Claire’s teachers have also learned that it is a huge deal for Claire to let them hold her for any length of time.  This shows me she is learning to trust them and I am so happy about that. 

I haven’t really heard about how she is doing with playing and interacting with the other children.  I just want to make sure she is adjusting well to the whole situation first before I worry if she is making friends.  I am lucky enough to get to pick Claire up most days from preschool on my lunch break so I do get to talk to the teachers and get to know them. 

Each week they learn about a color and a shape.  So far, Claire has learned about yellow, green, red, stars, squares, and circles. 

We are so proud of Claire and of her growing from these new experiences.  I hope each day continues to get better and better at preschool.  One day she won’t want to leave!  We are so appreciative of her teachers and how hard they work with her to make her have the best time possible. 

Love,
The Scott Family