Teacher Gifts and A School Report

Teacher appreciation gifts - are those a thing? Pinterest says Yes, but I'm not sure if it's an over-ambitious mom thing or real life.

My own mother always says "do what you think is best" and I didn't want to show up to Tory's last day of toddler preschool without a gift for her teachers, so Tory and I whipped together these cute little cards yesterday. I added a $5 coffee shop gift card inside each one.

Thank you for helping me bloom

And bloom she has. 

My little Tory Bean has grown by leaps and bounds since the first day of toddler preschool last September. Gone are the days my girl cried until she had no more tears to give; today, Tory proudly strutted into her classroom, posted her name tag photograph on the bulletin board and ran full-steam-ahead into her classroom. She delivered her handmade cards to her teachers with great pride. This group of teachers and classmates have made a positive impact.

The progression of Tory's development in the last seven months is astounding to me. It seems like just yesterday we (read: she) struggled to part during the parent / child separation portion of class, and now Tory waves me good-bye without a second thought. Tory can follow simple direction and "school processes" such as lining up to walk to the gym or sitting on a carpet square during Circle Time. It doesn't seem like much, and perhaps it could be argued she'd have developed these skills without the influence of a formal preschool curriculum, but I believe this class was great for Tory's overall growth. There were many occasions early into the fall semester where I worried I was pushing Tory too fast and now I'm thankful we stuck with it. She's absolutely thriving in her school environment.  

My girl is growing up. These days, Tory's actions more closely resemble a three-year-old preschooler than a two-year-old toddler and within the last month or two, I've noticed a big shift in Tory's maturity. For the most part, she shares with other kids during play dates and is so sweet and nurturing to Aden. During the parent portion of our last class, we watched a few short videos of our kids playing and interacting over previous weeks. It was interesting to see the same child development principles we've discussed in parent sessions throughout the year unfold before our eyes in the real toddler classroom. One clip showed Tory stacking blocks by herself. The parent educator pointed out this is early spacial development for toddlers (for Tory in this instance) and when another little boy joined in to stack a flat board onto Tory's tower, she welcomed him by holding the tower base steady instead of physically or verbally acting to stop it. Watching the video, I was so proud of Tory for the way she handled herself in various social play situations. How grown up she's becoming! It was also evident how much my Tory Girl loves the camera. Hmmm, I wonder where she would've inherited that trait? Ahem.  Tory seemed to follow the lens as the teacher documented the kids' play and even fake-cried at one point when something didn't go her way. Oh, Tory ...

Our first of many, many school experiences has come to a close. Now, school's out for summer (cue Alice Cooper). If only the weather would warm up around here and actually feel like it.