Jerel and Mandy: Pre-Preschool

Eliza has a late birthday so she still has another two years before Kindergarten. She was always jealous when Isaiah got to go to preschool last year (we did a home-based co-op for his first year) so I decided to organize a once-a-week pre-preschool for her. It was sort of like a playgroup with a circle time. I mean, I tried to do all sorts of instruction but it was tough, especially since we started the year with SEVEN two-year-olds. Here's my friend Lindsay teaching recently; she is from my old ward so she took her teaching turns at my house so that the other moms wouldn't have to drive all the way to Hillsboro. Lindsay's daughter Ellie is just a week older than Eliza, and Lindsay did a great job teaching with Ellie being somewhat clingy--not to mention she had her two younger kids with her as well!

Here is Eliza with her friend Eleanor. Eleanor is in our ward and apparently she and her twin brother Thomas are sort of obsessed with Eliza; when they get to church they have to look around until they see her, and they talk about her all the time and such. They are good kids and easy to be with. They are about 4 months younger than Eliza, so they aren't in the same class at church, but they were all in nursery together until the end of last year.

This day at the park was hilarious. Lindsay had this great game planned for the kids and they just weren't up for it. It was like the story of my life--planning fabulous things that end up flopping--but it was happening to someone else, which made it much more entertaining. In the end, they had fun playing at the playground while Lindsay and I chatted about how annoying it is that they don't have the attention spans of adults!

This fall we are putting Eliza in a "real" preschool just down the street from us. I'm not super impressed by it like I was with Isaiah's school, but it's right around the corner and half the price! With Isaiah in afternoon kindergarten, the drop off and pick up times will be tight, so proximity was key.

For the days Lindsay taught at my house, Isaiah usually joined in for at least part of preschool. Here he is at the park with Eliza's class, along with his friend Carter who lives right by the park.