School at Home

Dear Em,
One of my favorite things about you is your active imagination. It's such a treat to listen to the world you create while you play. A couple weeks ago, you brought school right to our house.

You started by creating a school bus for all of your children to travel to school on (which is funny, because I don't think you've ever traveled on a bus). You lined up most of the chairs in our house & filled every seat on your "bus." Even Charlie & Joey joined in on the bus fun.

When the children arrived at school, you made sure their lunch boxes were lined up (just like you do at school). Then the children played tea time during "family life" centers. Then each child sat with their own book at circle while you read them stories.

After circle time, you put them all down for rest time. You created an area for each child to rest. I mentioned that it was taking a long time to put all the children down for rest time, & you proclaimed, "in my real class, we lay down on cots on our own. My teachers only have to put blankets on us! I had to put my class in their rest areas too!" Then you rubbed their backs until each child had settled down for rest time (& we took you upstairs for your own nap).

I think you realized how hard your teachers work each & every day, because you asked me if I would be a co-teacher. "Mommy, you get to be a teacher too. When you get back from break, we'll talk for a little bit & then I'll go on my break. Hurry back, because there are a lot of children to take care of!" Ha! Your little reenactment of Pre-K cracked me up! Your attention to detail is amazing. Nothing gets by you, little girl.

I think as parents, it's natural to wonder what your child will be when she grows up. I have to wonder if you will choose a field where you can work with children. From the time you were one, you almost always had a baby doll in hand. When you're not playing princesses (& even sometimes then), you are always playing family life or a teacher or a babysitter. You love being with children, & you love teaching others (even teaching things that we already know).

I think it's because you've always had such amazing role models who have cared for you, from your nannies, to each one of your amazing teachers, to your Nonnie & your Grandma. They all have been so incredibly creative & kind & fun & inspiring & intelligent & guiding & loving. You can be quite stern sometimes, getting very frustrated when people don't get things the first time you teach them. If you can learn a little patience & a little grace, I think you would be an unbelievable teacher.

You have so much time though. Right now you can be anything you want to be, & tomorrow you can change your mind & be something else. I think at your age, I wanted to be a singer. When I was in sixth grade, I was sure I was going to be a police officer. For a time, I wanted to be an author or an English professor. I'm pretty sure my bio in my high school year book says that I was going to be a lawyer. I had no idea that I would meet & marry my best friend & husband in Rhode Island. Who knew I would fall in love with Rhode Island too & become a forever beach-bum who works in sales but loves nothing as much as I love coming home to my adorable little girl with an vivid imagination?

I love you so,
Mommy