Preschool Fair
It’s been almost six months since I last wrote about preschool. Although there was a bit of drama surrounding the final decision, by early February we had sent in our deposits to a Reggio Emilia co-op school. Both T and I are very happy with this decision and are confident that our kids will have a great experience there.
This past Saturday, the preschool had it’s annual fair- an event that is lots of fun for the little ones and a great fundraiser for the school. After spending $40 on tickets for the games, the only thing Tiny and Buba wanted to do was play on the playground. So, we headed there first, and when they grew tired of that, I convinced them to try some of the activities. They walked the plank (a balance beam), threw bean bags through some holes, fished for yellow ducks, pulled lollipops, played mini-golf, rode the plasma cars, decorated small canvas bags, and jumped their hearts out in the bouncy house. (Sadly, I did not remember the camera.)
Needless to say, Buba and Tiny had a blast! They both have already asked when they can go to the fair again (next year!), and I’ve been doing my best to explain to them that, no, there will not be a bouncy house there when the start preschool in the fall. Fortunately, there are parents who organize playdates at the school’s playground throughout the summer, so we’ll have several chances to go back and see the school as it will be when they join the three-year-old class in September.
A Very Lot of Fun
Our library has a little corner near the circulation desk where they sell gently used books for fifty cents to a dollar. We recently picked up Donald Crews’ book Night at the Fair and have read it so much that I practically have the whole thing committed to memory. Our favorite page is the one that says the best ride of all is the giant ferris wheel. Every time we read the book, Tiny and Buba comment that they will ride the giant ferris wheel when they get big.
So it was a huge surprise and created a ton of excitement when we spied a giant ferris wheel in the movie theater parking lot, just off the highway, as we were driving to a friend’s house on Thursday. I did a little research and learned that the fair would be in town through Sunday. We had no real plans for the weekend, so it was pretty much a given- we had to go.
Of course, the kids were so excited when I told them we were going. They knew that they would not be tall enough to ride the ferris wheel, but were still really excited just to see it in person and to watch other people ride it. Tiny wanted to watch me ride it, but I told her I would wait until she grew big enough to ride it with me. Instead, we rode the carousel (twice), a boat ride that went back and forth and around and around, a small dragon roller coaster, and the crazy school bus ride that goes up and down in a circular motion (sort of like a ferris wheel, but much smaller). Buba and Tiny were tall enough to go on the train ride (a ride where no adults were allowed), and they also enjoyed jumping and sliding in the bouncy house. T and I each played a game of skee-ball (we won nothing), and the kids played the pick a duck game and each won some bubbles in a ducky shaped container. We decided to end our fair experience by sharing a piece of fried dough covered with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Mmmmmmmm.
Once the tickets were gone and our bellies were full, Buba and Tiny had no issues with leaving. Tiny announced, once again, that eating the fried dough was her favorite part of the fair, but she also enjoyed seeing the ferris wheel and riding the boat ride. When asked what he liked best, Buba replied, “I had a VERY LOT of FUN!” Too much fun to pick out just one thing, I suppose.
All the Little Ducks are Swimming in the Water
This past Saturday, T and I took Tiny and Buba to the Ducky Race & Fair in a nearby town. This is the 5th year the event was held, and it serves as a fundraiser for a local preschool and sometimes other nonprofit organizations. It was our first time attending, and the kids had a blast!
We arrived about a half an hour early to avoid having to park too far away. Our first stop was at the ducky table, where for $10 you could buy a little, yellow, plastic ducky that would be thrown into a pool for a chance to be drawn (scooped out with a big pool cleaning net) for a $500 prize. Our duck was #1206, and we were asked to give it a name when we signed up for the drawing. I asked Tiny what she thought we should call it and she said, “All the little ducks are swimming in the water”, which is the first line in a song that both Buba and Tiny enjoy singing (we learned it from Buba’s EI teacher). That name seem a bit long for a little, yellow ducky, so we opted to call him Swimmy instead.
The event took place at a playground that was adjacent to a track, some baseball fields, and a swimming pool. The kids started off on the playground and then did some running around on the track. Just as we were coming off the track we saw some women setting up a small petting zoo with a goat, two small dogs, a small pig, two little rabbits, and a chicken. There were also some kittens and baby bunnies in cages nearby. We waited around while they finished setting up and were among the first to go in to see all the critters. Tiny and Buba had great fun petting the pig, goat, and doggies (especially the doggies). The women used baby blankets to tightly swaddle the kittens and baby bunnies and let the kids hold and pet them while sitting in the grass. Unfortunately, there were so many kids waiting, that we were only allowed 15 minutes in the petting zoo, but Buba and Tiny didn’t seem to mind when we told them we needed to move on to other things.
There was also a fire truck parked on the road, and Buba and Tiny got to climb up into the cab of the truck to see where the rescue workers sit and all the gear they have. Upon leaving, they each got shiny silver stickers branding them Junior Firefighters, which Tiny seemed to take very seriously.
We moved onto the library book sale just a few blocks away before picking up sandwiches and heading back for the ducky parade and drawing. Sadly, our little Swimmy did not win, but we all had fun waiting and listening as they drew ducks from the water for the $500 and various other prizes.
The only thing that would have made this experience even better would have been if I’d managed to snap a few pictures of the kids. I don’t know how other parents do it, but I was so afraid that if I took the time to try and snap a few photos, I’d lose my kids in the crowd. So that look on Tiny’s face as she stroked the baby bunnies ears and the look of wonder Buba had as he looked all around the fire truck’s cab will just have to remained engrained in my memory forever.