Reyes Family Time: First day of preschool AND gymnastics!

We've had quite a busy couple of weeks around here. Last week was Miriam's first day of preschool AND gymnastics (on the same day), and she did great at both!

We've been talking to her for weeks (months, even) about preschool, preparing her to stay in the classroom with her teachers and other kids, while we left her there for a while. She's quite shy and hesitant around new people and places (although you wouldn't know it if you see her frequently!) and we were worried that preschool was going to be traumatic for her. However, she'd gone to the open house on Tuesday and met her teachers and saw her classroom, and she felt quite comfortable enough to wander around and play on her own. So Thursday we went to drop her off....dressed her up, did her hair, took "first day of school" pictures. I was emotional the whole way there, thinking about the drop off and worried about how it would go. When we got to the door outside her classroom, some of the other kids/families were there (there are only 6 kids in her class) and a few of them tried to say hi to her, but she was being very shy and wasn't interested in interacting. Once the teacher opened the door, we went into the room and she started playing right away. She didn't really want to talk to the other kids or the teacher, but seemed comfortable and happy in the room. We stayed for about 15 minutes, and then told her we were leaving. After hugs and kisses, she continued playing while we walked out of the room. My last sight of her was her playing in the sink/kitchen area of the room....she wasn't crying, or even watching us leave! Of course, as soon as we walked out the door, I started crying. Mario and I went to a nice lunch and then went back to pick her up 2.5 hours later. She didn't see us outside the door at first, but when she saw me, she got the hugest grin on her face and ran over to the door! The teacher called her back for her snack and I was surprised she turned around and went, but she did. Then she came out the door and started running towards me...only to see Mario standing next to me, and then veer and run into his arms. I'm glad she adores him so much. :) The teachers reported that she didn't cry or scream, but that she did seem very shy and hesitant and (very slowly) warmed up over the course of the afternoon. She had her 2nd day of preschool earlier this week and although she was a bit more reluctant to go into the classroom at first, the teachers reported she warmed up more quickly and was a bit more interactive that day, so there is hope that she'll continue to feel more and more comfortable as the days go by!

That night at gymnastics, Miriam had a great time running around the gym and trying some of the activities. There are about 5 gymnastics classes that take place at once in a huge gym, and it is loud and chaotic and full of children running around. Once we found our class (parent and child gymnastics) it was a much smaller group (about 10 kids) and we rotated to different stations throughout the gym. Miriam was already exhausted from her first day of preschool, and she was in quite an exhausted/hyper mood, trying to run away to other parts of the gym every chance she got. Luckily Mario was there with me, because I'm not in any shape to be chasing her around and under obstacles these days! The class basically consisted of the coach showing us/the kids a skill, and then the parents helping the child do that skill. Again, good thing Mario was there with us, because I wouldn't be able to be crawling, jumping and rolling around on the floor with Miriam. She seemed to like most of it, especially the running laps (!!!) part they do as a warm up around the track. She also likes the balance beam, but was (very) disappointed that our class didn't get a turn on the trampoline. She can't do a forward roll/somersault at all, even with some modeling, and it seemed most of the rest of the class could. (It seemed most of the them had taken the class before as well, so they probably learned it already.) But she's been practicing her forward roll this week at home and she's definitely getting better - she can tuck her head and push herself over, but she still flops down rather hard...I don't know if she's not arching her back, or if part of it is just that she's tall. :) We didn't get any pictures of her at gymnastics, but we are happy it is an activity that lets her get out some energy and that she seems to enjoy...and I'm happy Mario is willing and able to run around and roll around with her so she can make the most of the class time!

Here are some pictures of her first day of preschool: