Thankful

I've been composing "thankful" blogs in my head for many days now.  Things have been busy (surprise!), so I haven't written any of them yet.  But, today I was really inspired to carve out time for this one.  Here goes...

I'm thankful for Epworth Preschool and its teachers.  Last year was Abbie's first year in preschool.  She had an amazing experience with Kasi and Amy.  She learned plenty of new things and she got to do a bagillion art projects that would NEVER have happened if I had been in charge.  That's actually the primary reason I signed Abbie up for preschool.  I don't "do" art projects.  I absolutely loved receiving all of her paintings, collages, and glitter and sticker covered pages.  But more importantly than that, over the course of the year, I watched Abbie blossom into a more confident little girl who developed a true love for her teachers and friends.  She told me every day (in cryptic half-sentences) about how she did cool art projects, sang songs, danced, and played on the playground (her favorite activity to recount).  And every Tuesday and Thursday morning, she told me how excited she was to see Kasi and Amy, even if her shy body language seemed to tell otherwise.

So, in the Spring, when I received a letter from another school telling me that they had a spot for her, I had no problem declining on the spot.  I knew that Epworth was the place for us.  The director, Angela, made us feel like family from the start, which let me know that each year that followed would be another good year for Abbie.  Heck, today Angela wiped Jason's nose like he was her own kid.  No fuss, no "do you mind if I wipe his nose?", no "um here's a tissue... your kid needs his nose wiped".  He's not even enrolled at the school, but she has known him by name since he was born.  I know this may sound random or trivial.  But, it's the LITTLE things that make the BIG difference.

This year at Epworth is even more amazing than last (and we're only a few months into the year!).  Abbie's teachers, Jarin and Cammie are phenomenal!  They are so incredibly loving.  It shows in how they speak to the children, how they speak about the children to the parents, how they shape their class curriculum... truly in everything they do.  I remember being especially touched by how Jarin showed such respect for the children as individuals early in the year by asking them if it was OK for their parents to enter THEIR classroom.  By giving them that ownership from the start and ASKING them to make that decision for THEMSELVES, she showed these little 3-yr-olds that they were important, valued, intelligent individuals... something many adults forget to do in their haste or selfish need for "control".

Since starting in Jarin and Cammie's class, Abbie has really blossomed.  She is a million times more talkative.  She often skips through the parking lot babbling on and on about all the things they did in school that day.   And while she was a little shy to open up in front of others at the beginning of the year, I suddenly have a little girl who goes up to new kids on the playground and introduces herself in a loud, clear voice (What?!?  My kid?!?).  She even introduces herself to ever new cashier in stores now.  Some of them look at her like she's silly, but each time she does it, my heart overflows.  I know that school is the primary reason she is now this way, and I love it.

In just 3 months, the parents of Abbie's class have been invited TWICE to come to special events with the kids.  In October, the kids did a Halloween costume parade followed by an adorable presentation of the song they worked on that month, "Five Little Pumpkins".  Today, they had a Thanksgiving meal together and performed "the Acorn song" (at least that's what Abbie calls it) for the parents.  The kids had personalized placemats that they made in class, including a phrase about what they were thankful for.  I loved it!  Even cooler, I noticed that many of the other classes were making the same meal in their classes (I love that they have some organized cross-school curriculum in addition to each teacher's creative ideas).

I hear some other mothers talking about their kids' schools here and there, and while they sound just fine, I keep thinking to myself that we really found something special at Epworth... special enough for me to put laundry and packing on hold to write about it today.  So, today and every day, I'm so very thankful for Epworth Preschool and the incredibly positive impact it has on my daughter.  I can't wait to send Jason there next year and watch the fruits of their giving blossom in him, too!