"Boring"

It turns out that without the presence of teacher Jennifer, Isaac doesn't much care for preschool. She was out sick both days this week, and although Isaac tolerated Tuesday all right, he actually began crying this morning when we found her gone. The other teachers kept a close eye on him today -- not entirely by choice, as Isaac didn't leave the side of an adult all day long.

Isaac told me today that school is "boring" and that there's nothing to do but "sit around." This is astoundingly untrue, because if anything his school is too busy and a bit overstimulating. I suspect that Jennifer forcibly moves him from one activity to another -- when he plays school at home, for instance, he will grab your hand and inform you he's going to take you outside to the playground -- and without her, he just sits in one place, uncertain what to do next. (Although today he apparently followed one of the other teachers around with a stack of books, waiting to be read to, just as he does with Jennifer. Is that progress?)

Anyway, seeing how upset he was without Jennifer, before leaving Isaac this morning I took the unusual step of giving him an overview of the day's options: snack was yogurt and blueberries, science was decorating a bird cut-out to prevent birds from flying into windows, art was sponge-painting leaf shapes and covering them with glitter, the playdough table had rolling pins and fake leaves, outside play featured squeegees and tubs of soapy water to wash the windows, and the block area had construction vehicles and road work signs. (There was more, but I didn't want to overdo it.)

In case you think this isn't enough, there are about a zillion other activities that are always available, including but not limited to books (and parent volunteers to read them!), puzzles, musical instruments, dress-up clothes, blocks both large and small, trucks, trains, a fully-outfitted playhouse, a loft, two climbing structures, a cool hut made out of woven willow branches, a guinea pig, tricycles, a tea party table, a free art table, and sandboxes complete with shovels, cookware, and all the running water you'd ever want. And a ton of other kids, of course.

"Boring," right? Well, he did end up with sand in his shoes, so he must have played outside at some point. Maybe the squeegees tempted him.

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Edited to add:

I forgot to mention that in addition to crying when he saw Jennifer was absent, and then again when I told him I was going to have to leave soon, I found Isaac in tears when I came to pick him up. The school's director told me he hadn't cried while I was gone, so I'm guessing he realized how much he missed Jennifer when it was time for the second circle time without her.