March and April at The Red Barn

Anna Claire loves being in the Bunnies class and loves her teachers, Miss Caitlin and Sharna. In the past couple months they have been talking about the letters O, W, Z, S, J, and R, so for Show-n-Tell she took in some things that started with these letters. She took in her Olivia for O, shared her wallet for W, took a toy zebra for Z, brought jelly beans to share with her friends for letter J. We took her radio and some raisins for letter R. Not remembering S at the moment.

Such fun and special things planned for the kids in March and April.

In March, for Dr. Seuss's birthday, they got to try green eggs and ham! Anna Claire really liked them! They also had Red Barn Olympics for letter O. For letter W, they ate dirt and worms (crumbled oreos with gummy worms). She still talks about this.

In April they had their Easter Egg hunt, made s'mores with marshmellow peeps, and had the Week of the Young Child. They wore their clothes backwards, turned the TV off all day, had a trike-a-thon, and No Child Left Inside day.

Anna Claire enjoyed:
playing outside (beautiful weather in March and April!)
painting
coloring
playing in homeliving
playing duck, duck, goose
dancing
playing with sidewalk chalk

We have really turned a corner this month, because Anna Claire will now poop in the potty. It's so telling to go back and look at her daily sheets. The days immediately following a poop she was: cheerful, cooperative, cute as a button, sociable, energetic, and sweet as sugar. Four or more days following a poop: tearful, quiet, clingy.

Bribery ended up being the thing that sealed the deal. When she poops in the potty she gets a small present (something under $1). It is working like a charm. Only problem is I am out of  presents at the moment! Gotta stay stocked up! She is reg-u-lar. :)  She is only wearing pull-ups at bedtime to protect against bedding accidents. I don't think she even need those pull-ups. She usually wakes up dry. :)

Looking back at other notes from her teachers, Anna Claire also is "doing a great job telling her friends when she is mad," and tip-toeing to go outside. She "loved skipping with her friends outside." Anna Claire "uses her words so well when she needs help."

Anna Claire talks about her Bunnies class friends often, usually on the way home from the Red Barn and when saying prayers. She tells me almost daily that Hudson Blake plays Power Rangers. We also have a lot of dialogue about boys not coming in the playhouse. I tell her the playhouse is for everyone, boys or girls. She is also telling me things that concern me, like "So and so isn't my best friend anymore," or "I don't have any friends." This makes me sad. I turn it around on her and start naming friends and asking, "Is Maggie your friend?" "Is Amy your friend?" Each time I ask a question like this she'll say, "Yeahhhh....." with a big smile. It always cheers her up. I tell her all the boys and girls in the Bunnies class are best friends, and that they all love her so much. So are all the other mommies I've talked to. Hopefully this "best friend" talk is a phase and will come to an end soon. It sure does cause a lot drama at our house.

Miss Caitlin did share with me that almost the entire class will move to the Ponies in June, ACCEPT Anna Claire, Olli, Knox, and Hudson Black (the children moving up are all older than Anna Claire by a month or more). I am totally OK with this, partly due to the reasons mentioned in the last paragraph. Although I do like Anna Claire being around and challenged by older children, I also want her to feel safe and confident. I think with her age fallling right smack in the middle of these two age groups, it gives her the best of both worlds. The time she will spend in the coming months will encourage her, being able to do some things that her little friends can't do and being able to help them.

We have talked with Anna Claire about this change and she is excited about it too. She is looking forward to Abby, Emery, Lucas and Baby J being in her class again. She is happy that Olli, Knox, and Hudson Black will be staying with her. What she was most excited about was staying in HER Bunnies class with Caitlin and Sharna. She loves them so much.