Preschool

We can't afford preschool for Aaron on top of child care, which I still need for Audrey, so we weren't planning to send Aaron to preschool.  But on Thursdays, a wonderful woman named Elenah does a sing-along at a park in the town adjacent to us.  She plays guitar, brings song lists for everyone, and a big box of instruments for the kids. 

Her younger daughter is Aaron's age and she can't afford preschool for her either.  So she organized a one hour preschool in the park and invited the kids from the sing-along.  Kim was interested in taking Aaron (it is the hour before the sing-along, on a morning that Kim works), so I signed Aaron up.  It is free and siblings are welcome, so it works great for us.  She brings all the supplies with her, including the easel, the floor mats for the kids to sit on, and art supplies (to which we all contributed).  She does lessons on numbers, letters, parts of the body and there seems to be a craft project every week. 

The first week I went with Aaron to check it out.  But Kim has taken him every week since then.  When he comes home, he runs back to my office to show me his craft project.  I'm grateful for this experience.  He's learning to participate in a group, sit still, follow directions, take turns, and all those other useful life skills that can best be taught in a group setting.