I've already been called by Nan(na), Ben and my mom and given them all the scoop on Art's first real day at his new preschool.  Here is for the rest of you out there and for posterity. 

It went very well.  We did our special goodbye when I left and he was proud to show Miss Wendy how we do that and she said he did a really good job.  Of course, I got next to no report from him, but luckily Miss Wendy is really good at being a preschool teacher and she hands out a list of the things they did that day.  Ben asked, "When does she have time to write that?"  I'm guessing she writes it during lunch, which is one of the last things they do, and runs it off real quick.  Today's note said, in large and very claer handwriting,

Today we practiced singing the "Gorilla" song!
We made a wonderful list of Gg words and we discussed the 2 sounds Gg makes ~ Gorilla / Giraffe
We read "The Gingerbread Man" and discussed the story.
We reviewed the sign language alphabet A-F and added g!
We even had time to play at the park!
The plan for today was to bake Gingerbread cookies – just like the cookie in our story!  We didn't quite get to it today… tomorrow we will bake 🙂 !
I am sending home the workds to our Gorilla song today.

Art ate his carrot, ham and pretzels in his lunch but left the apple.  He ate the fruit leather (lezzer) before we left in the morning.  It was sort of a bribe but not really.

Art did tell me that he didn't play very much because he just didn't want to.  I can see that.  I can see him watching a lot.  But when I arrived to pick him up all the kids were in the park (it's right outside the building – they barely even walk 100ft to get to it) in their snow pants, hats, boots and all and Art was getting into some climbing after sticking close to the teacher for a few minutes.  Then he was the last to leave.  He didn't leave until he was saying, "MY FACE IS GETTING COLD!"  It was moving all slow and near-paralyzed as a winter tends to get.

I'll post again after school tomorrow and also if he lets anything out about his experience today.  I'm really pleased with this place and very impressed with the teacher. It's a one-man show!  Well, woman, but she's doing everything and she is always steps ahead of the kids.  I think they probably feel very safe with her.  I do.

Bye bye for now.  – Jess

I got this great idea from the Children’s Museum! Use your salad spinner to make spin art. Put a circle piece of paper or a paper plate in the bottom of the spinner, dribble some watery pain on the paper and make the spinner go. Art had a fabulous time. I think he was doing spin art for about an hour and a half. I made “artisan bread” while he worked on it. – Jess

I’ve been trying to bake good bread lately and decided to take on some bread that required more than one rising. Little did I know that this “hearth bread” would be such a long involved process. I was up at 4am the other day so I thought I’d just get it going. Started a “pre-ferment” sponge starter while Lewis whacked the broom against the floor. Then five hours later added the rest of the flour for kneading and it’s first rise. An hour later it had not risen. Put it in a slightly warm oven, turned the heat off and let it go another hour. Good. Doubled in bulk. Punched it down and put it in for it’s second rise, which I thought would be the one when you shape it. No. That’s the NEXT rise! Oh well. Let it go again, but it wasn’t really growing right so I put the oven on for a minute or so again and turned it off. Whoops. The bread had started to bake a little. So much for rising. This Artisan bread thing sucks! I sort of shaped it into a large stone-like blob and unceremoniously slashed the thing with a cleaver (as opposed to scoring it with a serrated blade and my eyes lovingly gazing at my work…) Baked the puppy even though it was supposed to have finished it’s second rise and been shaped and risen again. Even after skipping 1 1/2 risings the stupid bread wasn’t done until almost 5pm!!! The crust was awesome, flavor very good but virtually NO air inside at all. Like a solid piece of playdough that you could melt butter on. But Art and I ate most of it anyway. I will try again, but that was funny. – Jess

The “green gackoo” has been a perennial favorite. Often requested even in the presence of other identical gackoos of different colors. The green gackoo is no more as it sprung a leak and could not be kept sterile. Goodbye good friend…

     Art, Lewis and I visited his new school today and it passes the test!  I think he'll do real well this time. The class is smaller, just 8 kids total, the oldest kid is a young four, no five-year-olds.  And of course Art is older than when we tried preschool in the fall.  I think he might have actually turned a corner in readiness for school and separation and all.  After about 15 minutes he jumped right into the class activities – circle time, clean-up, walking in a line like a choo-choo train (he even made a chugga chugga sound) and of course, snack.  During the circle time they played with a parachute and for the first time EVER Art went under the parachute!  We've gone to ECFE (early childhood classes) on and off for most of his three years and he has never wanted to go under the parachute even when all the other kids are laughing and having a great time under there.  See, I think he's turned a corner.
     The preschool program is throught the Minneapolis Parks and the park that Art is going to is actually one block away from my sister's house!  The "curriculum" focuses on one letter of the alphabet a week.  This week is G for "ga".  They read Goodnight Gorilla in circle time and named things that start with "ga".  What's really remarkable was when Ben, Art and I were eating dinner with fresh basil in it Art said, "Ba ba ba ba ba… B!  B for Basil!"  What!?!?!?  He's a genious.
      This afternoon, after his nap, Art asked if he was going to go to school today (he has trouble with the concept that after nap is still the same day as the morning was) and if I was going to "go away at school".  I said no, that we went to his school this morning.  He asked which day he was going to go and I would go away.  "Wednesday.  What will you do when I go home to wait for you?"  "I'll look at your picture."  As we were leaving the school today I said he could play with those toys again on Wednesday and he said, "Is Wendy going to be there?" "Yes.  Wendy is the teacher.  She'll be there every day!  Do you like Wendy?"  "Yeah."
      Ok.  So that's all good.  I'll update on Wednesday after his first day solo.  Best to all!  Ga ga ga goodbye!

I really turned it around today, I must say. Up at 4am? Ben working after a day of meltdowns yesterday? Could have been bad. But I got a nap before Ben left and some nudging from Ben to get a plan in order and things were pretty smooth all day long. Quite wonderful, actually.

So, Art’s been really losing it when he has to hear “no” or when something falls apart or when he wants cherries and we don’t have any cherries… Some of the reading I’ve been doing has recommended helping the child recognize when he’s getting all “flooded” with feelings and starting to lose it. Sometimes I say, “Are you getting all flooded up again?” and sometimes I say, “Keep your cool! Hold on! You’re losing your cool!” The cool thing started months ago when I (cringe) yelled at him in the car and then apologized later for “losing my cool”. It is starting to really stick and has produced some funny exchanges about Art’s cool. Recently after he had melted down I gave him some of my cool and we put “it” in his pocket, or we’ll find his cool somewhere and I’ll “hand” it to him. This imaginary stuff called cool is becoming an important commodity. Here are two fun ways cool came into play today.

(Melting down about not having cherries in the house or something)

Me: “Are you losing your cool?”
Art: “Yeeeaaahhh!” (wailing and starting to roll around)
Me: “Do you want some of mine?”
Art: “Nooooo! I just want my own cool!”

(After a mini-meltdown about not wanting to eat what I was making for dinner)

Me: “Hey, you lost your cool and then you got it back! Where was it?”
Art: (Thinks and looks around the kitchen for a minute.) You opened the dishwasher and it was in the dishwasher and it came back to me!”

———- Forwarded message ———-

It's about to turn 6 o'clock and I've already boiled potatoes for hashbrowns, started a loaf of artisan bread, written email and checked out my friends on Facebook, surfed the web for kitchen storage, emptied the dishwasher, eaten an apple, strolled the baby around the house a few times and gazed into space for long periods.  I have Lewis to thank for this early "productivity".  He was smiling and ready to go! at 4am.  Not even seven o'clock and I think both of us are starting to wind down for a nap.

This is my christmas gift from Jessica, a beautifully painted watercolor of one of my favorite photos of Arthur (taken by my brother Josh–it’s posted below). Isn’t it wonderful?