Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Hmm. What should I say about preschool on Thursday? Well, we read some fun books about babies. This one was super funny:

But it's told from the perspective of Sophie, who's not thrilled about every aspect of being a big sister. So, we talked about how you can't believe EVERYTHING you read (or hear).

When I read this page, Matthew (our newest big brother) said, "Why? Why don't you want to watch?" You're right, we Americans can be kind of stuffy sometimes, Matthew.

This page was the reason why Simone insisted I read it at preschool. Any book that mentions "underwear" is a winner!

And I just loved this book, especially because of the illustrations:

How many books about babies show babies looking like this? Like they really do when they're first born?

Simone said, "That baby looks mad!" And Maylie said that the baby looks like a monkey. Rachel promised her new babies didn't look like that when they were born. Those are some pretty cute, chunky little ones Adelia has; maybe Rachel knows what she's talking about!

And we listened to this book on CD:

Ellie also shared a book about McDuff getting used to a new baby in the family. It was fun to read about how a new baby is an adjustment for a pet as well.

We also ate baby food for a snack. The kids liked the cheerios, of course, but actually were not excited about eating the pureed fruit that Gerber makes. Perhaps they were hungry having skipped snack, and that could help explain their behavior.

We colored some emergent reader books about what babies and big boys/girls can do.

Matthew colored the face of the baby in his book red because he says that new babies have red faces.

We learned how to sign "baby" and some other family words.

And we compared dry and wet diapers. The Kirkland brand diapers hold just over 3 cups. The full ones are very squooshy and heavy, we noticed.


Now, there were some other things we talked about that I hadn't planned for:

1. We talked about how sometimes friends say unkind words (this happened quite a bit on Thursday). But then the next day they've forgotten all about being mad. So, we just have to forgive and forget.

2. We talked about patiently waiting. There was quite a bit of demanding around snack and lunchtime.

3. We also talked about how people need (and therefore get) different things. For example, you might not always like what your mommy or the host provide for lunch or snack, but you are not entitled to juice boxes, blueberries, bread, string cheese etc. Even if the person next to you (in our case, the baby) has them.

4. We talked about choices and consequences. Like, if you don't want to do the project or even join in the conversation while others are working, you may not just go play. even if you want to really, really badly.

5. And we talked about treating your friends' toys kindly.

It was actually quite a difficult day, and I'd appreciate any advice or suggestions you may have. This group of kids is just delightful, and it seriously seemed like some life form from another planet came and took over their bodies Wednesday night. Because they're never like this. And even on Thursday there were a few sweet moments. Like when Matthew leaned over and said to Simone, "Simone, I really love you." And then he turned to me and exclaimed, "Whew! That was hard to say. I was really nervous!" Or how Gavin started taking a lot of interest in Haven for the first time, probably because of our focus on babies. When she started crying at one point, he told me, "You should nurse that baby!" Being that she's 18 months old, she'd probably prefer an oreo McFlurry to breastmilk, but it was nice of him to look out for her!

Any suggestions? What works at your house?