Preschool

Tyler started his new preschool at the end of August. It is so different from daycare. So much structure! So many activities! When Tyler gets into the car at the end of the day, he sits quietly, staring off into space, for much of the ride home. I realized I have to stop asking him questions, and just let him chill for that time. On the days that I run with the stroller to pick him up, then run with him in the stroller back to work to get the car, he chatters, but only to tell me about the Truffula Trees. At night we try to get more information out of him about his day.

We were invited to an open house for his school last week, and we got to see him in action. First, I learned how very, very important it is to attend these events - when I arrived, a few minutes late, I could tell he had been crying, and a staff member explained, "He thought you weren't coming." Ouch! We sat next to a little girl whose parents didn't come, and my heart was breaking for her. At daycare, parents were invited to events, but I could tell from the pictures, only one or two would ever show up. But at preschool, parents are THERE. 

I hung out while Tyler ate his snack (apples and cheese) in the lunchroom, then watched as he was directed to dispose of his trash, push in his chair, and stand with his hands behind his back and wait until he was called to line up. It seemed a bit militant, but I realized, it likely prevents fights caused when kids poke each other and the teachers can't monitor as closely. 

Upon entering his classroom, he has to slide his picture out of an envelope on the door, and post it in the right spot on the door, to show that he is present for the day. I saw a binder with his picture on it, opened it, and discovered artwork about the letter A, the letter for the week. The teacher then went over the calendar with the kids, singing a song about the days of the week, first in English, then in Spanish, and then the months of the year. She then helped them identify the specific day, date, and month. She went over their job list for the week. Tyler's role was "Door Holder." Then they spent time with the letter A, identifying words that start with A, and reading a book about occupations that start with A. Next they danced to some music - a freeze dance. Tyler's mode of dance is jumping. And wow is he happy doing it! I saw he's very good at freezing on time - something he struggled with all summer in sports class. Next was a book, then another dance, an elephant dance, walking around in a circle swinging their trunk. 

Then the kids were told to line up again, and headed off to the "computer lab." There were two computers. While two kids at a time work on the computers, the other kids are divided to sit at tables, each table with a different project. The first table we were assigned to was the robot construction table. It was tough! The next table was much easier, stringing plastic keys onto a keyring. The third table was puzzles - and then it was Tyler's turn to work on the computer. He played a game to release letters, hear the letter sound, then click on objects that started with that letter. 

After that, he returned to the puzzle table, but both Tyson and I needed to get back to work. Most other parents had already left. We were surprised to see the lower lip jut out, and despite our efforts to "rip the bandaid off quickly", we could hear him wailing after we left. But he doesn't cry each morning when I drop him off, and he's not crying in the evening when I pick him up. He engages more quickly in the mornings here than at the previous school, and just seems to be having so much fun. The "tricycle yard" is bigger than the play yard at daycare, and there's also a sand yard with playground equipment, slides, tunnels, which I know he gets to play in too, but they use that after lunch and towards the end of the day, but are always back inside by the time I arrive to pick him up. He had his first Chapel experience, they have chapel once a month, and this month's value is "Friendship." Yesterday, a magician visited, but all Tyler will say is that he brought a white bunny.
 At the end of the day when I come to pick him up, there are several families hanging out, letting their kids play on the grassy lawn (a novelty in Tucson.) We're so excited for Tyler to get to have so many new opportunities!

Truffula Trees

I was warned that Threes are more terrible than Twos, but so far this has not been the case. At one point this summer, when I was trying to woo my sister into meeting me for a conference by saying not only is Sedona beautiful, but Tyler is supercute right now, she noted, "You're awful sweet on him right now, aren't you?" I remembered then, that my nephew Cole was supercute at 3, and 3 was the age that I met my good friend's son, Ashton, and he captured my heart right away, too. There's just something magical about the age of 3.

Truffula Trees are a great example. Melanie (who happens to be the mother of that previously supercute Ashton, who has most likely graduated from supercute to supercool by now) gave Tyler a big Dr. Suess book (compilation of books) back when he was a wee little elf, and I was sad that Tyler never got into it. He loved Fox in Socks, and went through a Cat in the Hat phase, and loved Green Eggs and Ham, but that big book of Dr. Suess, he just wasn't having it. One night, I heard through the monitor Tyson reading to him from that book, reading "Yertle the Turtle" and Tyler was complaining and crying about it, asking for a different book, but Tyson just kept reading anyway. The next night, through the monitor, I heard Tyler ask for the book again. Tyson read Yertle the Turtle, then read "The Lorax". I was impressed with Tyler's attention span for two long stories in a row. I had no idea how magical The Lorax would become.

From then on, each night, Tyler has asked for "the book with the trees." Eventually, he began asking for "the Lorlax." Now, finally, "The Lorax." As we drive to school each morning, Tyler spends the entire 35 minute commute talking on and on about Truffula Trees. Except he's the "bad guy" - he wants to chop down the Truffula Trees! Some days, he tells me he's going to chop down one. Other days he wants to chop four. Other days five! That's more than the Once-ler could ever chop down at a time. When we go running, he sits upright in the stroller, and as we pass palm trees, Tyler points at them, and describes the color of the Truffula Tufts, pink or purple or blue or green. I hear him talking to his teachers about Truffula Trees. It's non-stop. Of course, because Truffula Trees are what everyone, everyone, everyone needs!

Part of the supercute factor is that Tyler is so affectionate right now. His vocabulary and speech have increased so much, and conversations are quite entertaining. He shows his silly side more often, and is bouncy, like Tigger. He likes to climb on Vader like a motorcycle and bounces on him, too. 

Tyler's favorite things are still his train set, which is played with nightly, and books. He watches some YouTube videos of trains most nights on my iphone, and plays Angry Birds, Cookies, Spanish, and Letters on it as well. We've cut back on movie time. I heard Tyson tell Tyler, "On the nights when you and Mommy go running, you get home too late to watch a movie." I felt a pang of guilt, then remembered - I'd far rather Tyler go for a stroller ride with me and look for Truffula Trees than watch a movie every night. 

Also, at some point I felt rather distressed that Tyler only ate hot dogs, fish sticks, grilled cheese sandwiches, and quesadillas. I remember lamenting to my sister about this - how could a health educator let her son eat such a horrible diet? She reminded me, there's a reason kids' menus in restaurants across the country serve hot dogs, fish sticks, grilled cheese sandwiches, and quesadillas - because kids eat them. That was when I remembered, "That's right! We couldn't get him to eat anything at all! We were desperate to get him to eat! That's how we landed here!" She gave me permission to be more patient and forgiving of myself.

And then we began the rule of, "If you want a hot dog, first you have to eat your vegetables." Painful at first, but now, most nights, it's expected. While we were in San Diego, Tyler was so overstimulated that it was easier to get him to try new foods - chicken/pesto/parmesan pizza, for one. When we returned from vacation, we made it a point to just keep serving him the same food we're eating. He's been having a harder time this week with a roast, but otherwise, he's been great at eating the foods we're eating, especially chicken. Much healthier than hot dogs and fish sticks! 

The other habit we broke was eating in front of the TV. Again, how did a health educator let her kid eat in front of the TV? Because a) our kitchen table is a high table, and being strapped in a tall chair for safety turned mealtime into a prison sentence, and b) this kid could outlast Ghandi in a hunger strike. But he loved his movies. So we'd let him eat while watching the movie, and if he stopped eating, we'd pause the TV until he took a bite. Horrible, I know. But it was an act of desperation. Until, as I was working on my continuing education credits, I was reminded how damaging watching meals in front of the TV is to our ability to regulate our appetites, notice hunger and satiety cues, sets us up for obesity and diabetes...And a conference seminar I attended on epigenetics discussed the value of human touch, but also the value of eating meals as a family at the dinner table as a way to impact our phenotypic expression when genetically predisposed to chronic diseases...So, we're eating at the table now. Tyler is tall enough to climb in and out of our nice tall chairs with ease, he's using the placemat Grandma Glass bought him for his birthday, and although Tyson may be doing schoolwork at the table while we eat, at least we're together, and I give Tyler my undivided attention. It is painful though - he takes up to an hour to eat. (Saying "I"m gonna pause it!" is meaningless now!") I'm struggling with the ability to trust the principles of intuitive eating when it comes to Tyler - he went on hunger strike the moment he was born, and I have always had difficulty with appetite and hunger cues (lack thereof, I mean), so I haven't been able to let go and figure, if he's hungry, he'll eat, if not, let him get down. Struggling with it, but I know we'll find our way in time. I think I'm going to try setting the timer for 30 minutes. Or find out what other people have done.

At any rate, the three year old version of Tyler is supercute, even if he does want to chop down all the Truffula Trees.