Preschooler

My Daughter the Artist

~ theantelopediaries

Children hiding under umbrellas on stage.

On Saturday my daughter participated in a recital at her preschool.  I was looking forward to it, but tried to manage my expectations.  At her first class performance in December, she didn’t even go on stage.  We were late due to rush hour traffic and my daughter clung to me the entire time in the rented space at the senior center.  She  refused to be put down, much less sit with her classmates or get on stage.  I attribute her behavior to a) a very different environment and b) the event starting at 7 pm- her bedtime.  It was a bad combination for a newly minted three year old.  So when I got an email that the end of the year performance would be at her school on a Saturday at 11 am, I was hopeful. More →

Taking Summer to Reconnect

~ theantelopediaries

Silhouette of child giving flower to a woman

It’s eight days before the official start of summer, and I am very tired.  By early afternoon I’m ready to take a nap with my three year old, except my three, almost four year old doesn’t always fall asleep now.  It could be the longer days in this northwest corner of the country.  (Don’t worry, we make up for it with darkness, cold and rain in the winter.)  Even if she does nap, I have about an hour and a half to myself before I start the second leg of my day.

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Preserving My Identity, or Why I Send My Daughter to Russian School

~ theantelopediaries

Sign "Russian Language School Inc"

Recently I learned that a boy who has been attending Russian school with my daughter for the past year and a half will enter kindergarten next school year and not return to Russian School.  I was disappointed because my daughter and he are friends, but I was also sad.  I was sorry that he wouldn’t be coming back.  Emotional involvement in someone else’s decision is considered a poor life choice by Americans.  But in Russia, it’s how we keep our community.   More →