Well this post is late and Allie already has a month and a half of preschool under her belt. I was worried about her not liking it. It was a new school for us, and all summer she was saying she didn't want to go, and she didn't like her teacher, and her teacher, who she had not met, was bad. I drop her off for child care and activities at the Y and she enjoys them, so I was pretty sure she would like it given the chance, but her outlook wasn't making me optimistic.After we went to the open house she said she thought she would like it, but she still would miss me. The first day of school went great and she hasn't looked back. When we drop Selena off at kindergarten on the days she doesn't have school she is always asking me why she can't go too. I like the new preschool. It is more child directed than the one Selena went to and there seems to be a bit more intention in the activities which I think is critical for Allie as she doesn't really like to be told what to do, or be interrupted in her creative endeavors. I think she spends most of the time at the painting table. When Allie and Selena are at home and Selena is telling me about what she does at school, Allie will pipe up and say what she did, she gets especially happy when they both do the same stuff. She proudly pronounces things her teacher taught her.
Allie also requested to start gymnastics. This was the first activity Allie repeatedly has asked for so I figured I should oblige her. I did gymnastics for six years when I was younger and feel that it can be a pretty intense culture and wasn't sure if I wanted to subject my girls to it, but hopefully we'll be able to keep it all in perspective. She enjoys the classes and does lots of good climbing and jumping. She's been improving greatly on her tree climbing abilities--still working on the tree descending abilities. There is a "crazy tree" on the trail on our way to Selena's school, so every day on the way there and the way home the girls shimmy up it, and then Allie gets lifted back down.
Her computer graphics skills are pretty impressive. She has mastered most of the tools in Microsoft Paint and can draw some pretty neat pictures. She helps out Selena when Selena gets stuck. She continues to explore pbskids and starfall. We found a new book series by Marie Louise Gay about a lovely little girl named Stella and her little brother Sam. It's fun watching Allie's little face light up when reading the stories.
She enjoys cutting up fabric, paper, cardboard and yarn into tiny pieces. Despite the hair cutting issues I have a hard time restricting the scissors as they are her favorite creative outlet. She likes tying stuff up into knots. She likes building with Legos and big cardboard blocks. She likes playing with her baby dolls, dressing them and putting them to bed. She likes painting and drawing. We love our little Allie-gator.
