First Day of School in the Spanish Immersion program

So, everyone else in the world started school a month ago. But it took us a while to get settled, get some transportation, and determine where to enroll Sophia for preschool. She finally started at her new school yesterday! Our big girl is FOUR now!

 In Spain, 4 year olds are considered full-time students, and go to school from 9am- 2pm like everyone else. Then they go home for lunch and siesta. We had the possibility to send Sophia to a Spanish public school just off base, and while I was excited about the potential for her to learn Spanish and become immersed in the culture... I was very hesitant about some practical issues, like her not eating until mid-afternoon, and adjusting everyone's naptime by an hour or more. There was also the slight issue that she wouldn't understand Spanish teachers, and they wouldn't understand her. So, last week when I heard that there was an opening in the CDC's Spanish Immersion program on base, I jumped to get her registered.
So her class is at the CDC on base, and it meets every morning from 9am- Noon. They serve lunch there at 11am. The class contains 20 children, ages 3-5, with various levels of experience with Spanish. There are 2 teachers, each native speakers, whose job is to tailor their instructions to each child's ability. So since Sophia is starting knowing only a few words, they say everything to her twice--once in Spanish, once in English. The constant repetition and classroom routines will help her become familiar with certain words and phrases. They also do crafts, art, songs, books, and discussion topics in Spanish with English explanations. It seems like a wonderful environment to introduce her to the language, while practicing skills like writing, letter recognition, days/weather, and other preschool concepts. She enjoyed preschool last year, and I think she is going to love this program too. I also like that Danny might be able to join the class once he turns 3 in December. They both started the morning full of excitement and energy. (Notice that it is still dark outside at 8:30am!)

 Once we got to the school, we had a few moments to wait outside the classroom with other parents until the doors opened at 9am. Sophie was a little shy and clingy at first, saying she didn't want to go to school and that she would rather be with Mommy. It was a little awkward that the rest of the class had already been together for a month, so they were all calm and used to each other, while she was definitely feeling like the "new girl." But then she saw this tree in the courtyard and started playing with friends while we were waiting...

 After that, she hesitated a little inside, but another mom kindly introduced us to her daughter, and she started showing Sophie where to put her things, etc. I actually almost cried--which is very unlike me--when I saw how nervous Sophie was and how hard it was to be in a new environment. I had to get out of there fast! At the end of the day, she was so happy to see us! She didn't say much about what they did that day, just that she didn't like school, she didn't want to go back the next day, they did fun things, she liked eating spaghetti, but they didn't have any paint. Hmmm. Of course we went back today even though she kept telling me how much she would rather stay home. Today seemed much better. She got a bracelet prize for being a good listener, which she was SUPER excited to show me. She apologized for 'lying' because they DO have paint, she made a few friends who were nice to her, and she got to ride a bike on the playground without anyone pushing her. Improvement! She is still saying she doesn't want to go, but I think it is going to get a little easier each day, especially as we get into our new routine and she gets to spend 1-on-1 time with me.
As for her Spanish so far, yesterday afternoon, she asked, "Can I have some leche?"
I said, "Oh would you like some milk?"
"No," she told me, "leche means chocolate!"
Ummm, no.
Context might make vocabulary tricky if she is just picking up bits of conversations. Today I asked her what it meant when her teachers say "Lava te los manos." At first she just said, "I don't know." But then I made the motion of rubbing hands together, and said "When you come in every morning, your teachers tell you to lava los manos." And she said, "Oh yeah, that means wash your hands." So she is definitely going to pick it up, but I am going to have to reinforce it, so the more I learn about their songs, their routines, what they eat, etc, the better I can help her to learn. I am very excited for her!

I'm also very excited to send some time with my boys. Sophie is very high energy, so when I have all 3 kids, I always have to focus on her and Danny. Poor Alex often gets ignored. So it was nice to spend a morning at home reading to Danny and playing with him. We had a great game of Candy Land, and he was so positive and cheerful the entire time! We ate lunch at home since she was eating at school, and it is way easier doing meals for 1 less child. Then, since the library is right next to her school, we went to story time before picking her up. This week's theme was fire prevention, and we had a visit from Sparky the Fire Dog! Danny was thrilled, and snuggled up next to Sparky and insisted the big 'dog' was his best friend.

 They read the Clifford Firehouse story, and taught the kids to Stop, Drop, and Roll. Sparky demonstrated, and Danny rolled right along beside him. It was so cute! Even Alex was thrilled by the big dog and the plastic fire hats. So a fun morning was had by all.

Today I had hoped to check out a playgroup that meets every Wednesday at the park down the street from our house. But Dan had part of the morning off, so instead we took care of business like paying bills, printing my ballot to vote, and getting the registration for his truck. There are so many things that I am willing to try out with 2 kids, but are almost impossible to attempt with 3. So hopefully soon we will find a balance between structured activities like storytime, playdates, and gymnastics, and unstructured time to play and get chores done. Sophie is a little jealous that Danny will get to do things with Mommy while she is at school, but I'm aware that it is much better for them this way. So, it's going to be an adjustment, but I think we are all going to enjoy Sophie's new school!