Cows and Preschoolers

I am still recovering. Yesterday, I went to the diary farm/pumpkin patch with Evan's preschool class. I made the same trek with Issa's class. Issa's class of mostly demure girls. Evan's class of not a single demure child was a whole different trip. I am still tired.

Despite the fatigue and the very real fear one little sprite was going to get run over by a tractor, it was a fun day. The kids loved seeing the animals, and Evan loved having me there. I had strict instructions that hand holding was absolutely not allowed, but he did snuggle up to me on the hayride. I'll take what I can get on that front.

The hayride was by far the highlight. Evan snuggled up next to me, and all the kids loved seeing the cows--especially the calves. One friend had never been on a hayride and he belly-laughed the entire ride. I couldn't help but giggle right along. There is nothing more fabulous than the pure joy of a child.

I also met a new friend in Evan's class yesterday. She just moved here from China, and she speaks no English. I don't even think she recognizes her Americanized name. It was her second day in school and we were at a dairy farm where people talked at her all day. It was a disaster. My heart broke for her; I can't imagine what that feels like at four years old. In a new place where no one speaks your language and you don't speak theirs. Needless to say we had some behaviors.

When I got back to work, I asked a colleague for suggestions, and I sent the teacher some ideas to help with the transition. The best suggestion was to get her a buddy, someone who could show her the ropes and smile a lot. So...I enlisted Evan last night.

As I was snuggling him right before bed, we talked about how she must be feeling scared and sad and a little helpless. We talked about how she really needed a friend, and what being a friend to her might look like right now. He was hysterical. His little earnest face looked at me, he put his little hands on his eyebrows, and he said, "I have been smiling at her for 14 hours and she just keeps throwing balls over the fence." This is the highest crime in Evan's world. Once I pulled myself together, we talked about being kind to people who need it most, and he agreed he could see if she wanted to play with him and his friends today--but probably not with balls. I agreed it was a solid plan.

This morning, as we were getting ready, he reminded me that he was going to smile a lot and be kind today--but not with balls. He's thinking Legos would be a good start because she likes Legos. I love this little boy's sweet heart..