New Adventures in Daycareland

We have a new little girl at the daycare for the next few weeks! Her name is Riko and she is almost 3 years old. She has come all the way from Japan, with her mother. She speaks very little English, and so is quite the little warrior in a new land.

I have had kids come into the daycare who cry the first few days (most common), and I have had kids come into the daycare who didn't even seem at all bothered by their parents' departure. But I have never had a child come into the daycare who started off quite strong and happy, and became sad suddenly three days in. It did coincide with an epic meltdown and time-out that Noah was having, so perhaps this spooked her. Or perhaps it was the heat. Or exhaustion. Or a cold she may have caught (Leila was under the weather as well.)

Whatever the reason, Riko was then very sad for two days straight. I felt so bad for her. New country. New language. New people. The only thing we could do was hug her and give her as much love as possible, to show her that she could trust us.

 

She has really started to cheer up, as of late. Having a nap here and there, at the daycare, really helped matters as well.

She made a beautiful painting one day, at the easel. I later learned that this was her very first time painting. She was so proud to show her art work to her mommy!

Another morning (with Leila asleep, and older boys at school), we made pretend ice cream with Playdough.

This was the situation at the bottom of Lithuania Park one day, after some heavy rain. Thomas was well-equipped in his rain boots, but the other kids were not. Noah and B. had to take their shoes off to go into this little pond.

The batteries in my camera died out before I could catch the progression of this pond play. Thomas stayed pretty well in tact, since he spent most of his time in the playground area. But Noah and B....well, they ran through the pond (splashing everywhere), took their baseball caps off and scooped water into them, which they then hurled at each other, and eventually just SAT in the water! They did everything but roll in it. I will never forget watching them enjoy such this crazy day. They were so joyful. I had to give Noah and B. a really quick bath before I gave everyone lunch. It was a lot of work and not something I'd want to do every day, but once in a while, I think kids need a bit of crazy freedom.

This little princess decided to watch the action from the sidelines, and enjoy a snack with her baby!