Our Very First Day of Co-Op

This past Friday was our first day to participate in our homeschool co-op. My big little girl A was so excited to be going to co-op, just like she has been excited about all things related to school. I think we got us an academic on her hands; time will tell.

We got her all set up with a princess backpack and a Hello Kitty lunchbox and then the obligatory 'first day of school' pictures. Here's one:

It feels like there should be some catchy title to it about being smart, or filling her brain full of new facts, or something more witty than I am this morning. What it really is was her sassing us with "The sun is in my eyes!" Wonder if we can get her to reenact this picture for the rest of her school years?

We tried a few more times and got some normal looking ones, with the sun still in her eyes. You will be relieved to know that she survived the first day of school pictures and I think she will only be slightly scarred, not enough to warrant any concern. Here's another:

Of course we could have turned her the other direction, but then the sun would have been in our eyes, and that just cannot be. 

There is a daycare behind our house and a chain link fence where the kids will occasionally line up and watch us and our shenanigans. This day was no exception. By the time we were done taking pictures there were a few little kids staring and wondering what in the world those crazy parents are doing. Big girl waved at them and off we went to jump in the car and head to co-op.

The first day of co-op went quite well, to me. She really enjoyed getting to be in a room of 20 pre-schoolers. I think the teachers made it through too. That is a lot of 3 to 5 year old kids in one room. Each class lasted 55 minutes and she had Pre-School Language Arts, Discovery Science, Little Artists, and Sing & Play. Oh and little baby girl had her own nursery class she spent the day in with 4 other littles. 

I was assigned to help in each of the girls' classes throughout the day, starting with the nursery and going back and forth. I enjoyed getting to help with all those sweet kids and their wonderful teachers, and getting to watch big little girl in action. Those pre-school kids are fun and chaotic and more fun. Some of them had been in this same co-op last year and knew what to expect, but it looked like quite a few of them were new to this like we are. They all did so well considering it was new to them. My favorite moment of the day was when one little boy proclaimed to me "I drink my bath water!" How I did not bust up laughing, I do not know! Terribly cute. In the classes that I helped with there was a good mixture of learning and playing time. Of course by the 4th period, most of the kids were done for the day so it was a little more difficult to keep their attention. And there were a lot of awesome toys in the room to get their attention. 

On the way home I was asking her all about her day. "Did you like having mommy help in your class?" "No. You need to teach your own class and not come in mine." "Why?" "Because when all the girls were quiet, YOU talked." Gasp! I'm so terrible! Oh, my little girl is growing up. 

We are already looking forward to next Friday. The ladies that organize this co-op are doing a fantastic job of setting up all the classes and keeping things rolling along quite well. I think there were over 100 kids plus most of their mommies, and one daddy. My husband graciously offered to teach a class our first semester, so it is nice to get to see him there too. He is a natural when it comes to teaching. He is teaching the older kids and I know he'll do a fantastic job.

Hope you are having a wonderful day so far!

~Lisa