"Spanish School"

Only two years ago at this time, I would have spent the morning hours nursing and dressing my baby and later standing at a local park, Ava perched on my hip, attempting to have a coherent conversation with other moms who had to keep running off to see after their "big kids." Now I have a "big kid." Tomorrow the morning with go something a little more like this:

Ava will wake up around 7AM and let us know she's awake and she's going to use the potty now. She may even take off her pull-up and ask for panties, and that will lead to dressing to the shoes since we'll be in a hurry later. Then, she will request that I get her a snack of Clifford Crunch or Dora Stars cereal...or raisins...and "fix her a show." We will all eat breakfast around 8:00, after which time we will all go "brush the SugarBugs off" and fix hair. I'm sure there will be an annoying photo shoot in there somewhere, and we will rush off to take Daddy to the law school. Next thing you know, I'll be holding the hand of my "big kid" as we look both ways to cross the parking lot and enter her preschool, where joyful faces will spout off all kinds of happy welcomes in languages I don't even understand.

PRESCHOOL. Already? When Ava was my baby, I never anticipated putting her in preschool this soon. I feel like I have taken her years for granted. I should spend more quality time on the floor playing with her when she asks me to. I should work in all those great activities I purchase and/or plan more often. She is growing up so fast. Right now I get a pass. She's only going to school two mornings a week, so it's not like all my time with her is gone...for now. But these almost-three years have gone by so fast, and before I know it, she'll be in preschool every morning, and I'll only have the afternoons with her. And then I'll turn around twice and suddenly it will be time for all-day kindergarten!

I really didn't think Ava needed to be in preschool this year. She's not even three yet, she gets along fine with others, she has other opportunities to be around other children, there's plenty of time to learn social skills, and she already knows everything they would teach a preschooler anyway. I feel like I can provide her good learning activities at home. So why would I put her in preschool? Well, we finally decided that because the one thing I can't give her is the gift of an easily-learned foreign language, we should shoot at the moon and see if she would be accepted to The International School. If that didn't work out, then no preschool until after our big move next year...which is hardly the best time for another big change like starting school. She was accepted right away, so that was that.

I am excited about all the possibilities this preschool presents to Ava. It's a Spanish immersion program, so she will be spoken to almost exclusively in Spanish by native Spanish-speakers. By May, my child may very well understand more Spanish than I do, even if she can't speak simple Spanish sentences yet. I look on with eager anticipation of that likelihood. What a blessing it would be for her to acquire a language effortlessly and be able to speak it without an American accent. (She may sound Venezuelan, but how cool would that be!?)

Ava is very enthusiastic about going to her "Spanish School;" I don't expect any crying on her part. I may tear up as I drive away, knowing that I'm entrusting her care and nurturing to someone else besides me for the first time. But it's going to be such a great thing for her...and for me too. Now I have the challenge of figuring out how best to spend those six free hours each week. Not such a bad problem! :)