Day 2: We had a really bad bedtime Monday night, which made for very poor sleep for all of us that night, so yesterday at school was harder for Caleb. He was much more clingy when I dropped him off, which I expected, and I gave the teacher a heads up that he hadn't slept well, but he still managed to make it the whole time and was in a good mood again when I picked him up. The tia said that she could tell he hadn't been in a very good mood or enjoying himself much, which I also expected.
When I asked him what they did at school, he said they played inside and outside again, and that they painted again, too. I asked him "Con que colores pintaste?", and he answered "AmaLillo (amaRillo - yellow. he says it like a Chinese person, swaping some of his r's for l's :)). I asked in Spanish what other colors he painted with and he answered me "No más (no more)."
At bedtime he mentioned something about a girl named Sofie. I asked him who Sofie was, and he said a little girl at his school. He told me they were playing together yesterday. I was excited to know that he learned someone's name without my help and had enough fun with her to tell me about it.
Hopefully now tonight he (and we) sleep better and get a better start tomorrow...
Day 3: Last night Caleb went to bed pretty well for us (thank the Lord!) and when I left his room I was less stressed out too, which was a great feeling. He slept super well and didn't get up until 7:40, which is about a half hour later than he has been waking up here. At drop-off he was clingy for a minute, but I was later told he was fine after a few minutes, as he often is when he gets upset when I leave him. I also asked tia Andrea if there was a little girl named Sofie in the class, and she pointed out a little blonde girl to me (proof that Caleb knew what he was talking about and got her name right :)).
When I returned to pick him up today, tia Andrea told me he had been in a much better mood today, and that he was talking to her and telling her all sorts of things in English. Its English not Spanish, but at least he was feeling noticeably more comfortable with his environment and his teacher, and maybe within a few days he will start using some of his Spanish words and expressions with her. Instead of running right to me and wanting to be held and leave he wanted me to come in and play with him, but the teacher suggested we leave right away so he leaves wanting more and looking forward to it for tomorrow. The tias at Pipo have been very helpful guiding me and other parents whose kids are trying to adjust to preschool, as many are in the same boat as us right now beginning the school year with tears, so we are grateful for them and their recommendations!
Today they got to paint again, but this time with blue. I'm seeing a pattern that seems they will get to paint all week. Not sure why its only one color each time, perhaps for a color theme each day related to other things they are doing - I will have to ask about that tomorrow. I do know that they are doing 'testing' all week to see what the kids do and don't know in order to help structure the rest of their lessons this year - colors, numbers, shapes, parts of the body, up/down, inside/outside, stop/go, and many other things that she told me and I can't remember now. I'm hoping they give us individual reports at some point. It would be interesting to see, especially since Caleb's vocabulary in Spanish is much smaller than the other Chilean kids'. Later today Caleb started moving his arms in circles (either like a swimming motion or like pedaling with his hands motion, not sure which he intended...) and said "we did this at school today." I like hearing the little things that they did as they gradually come back to mind for him. :)
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