Preschool Gifts: Thank You for Helping Me Grow

Today was Big B's last day of preschool.

I can't believe I just typed that sentence.

When it was time for Big B to begin preschool, we did our 'research,' and spent a year shelling out way too much money for fancy watercolor paper and hoity-toity fundraisers at the so-called best show in town. We knew that wasn't for us, and it wasn't a great fit for Big B either. We felt so lucky when we then found a small, quaint, good old-fashioned glue-and-popsicle sticks kind of place, so cozy it made me want to stay and play every time I dropped him off. He was well loved, well taught, and happy.We wanted to say goodbye to his preschool teachers in a tangible way. There are only five teachers, four of whom Big B has had at one point or another, plus the owner of the school and the school cook. We decided to create flower pots that would remind them each of Big B. We have stacks upon stacks of gorgeous paintings he created during his time there, so we recycled those by cutting them into leaves and decoupaging them onto the pots. The results were gorgeous, and we were excited to go fill them!
Big B insisted on bringing Puff to assist him in choosing the right plants. I love this picture, and hope that in years to come it reminds me of a time when 'friends' were acceptable in nonhuman forms--stuffed, imaginary, and very real to a little heart.After looking through herbs, butterfly plants, and many, many flowers, we decided on marigolds to fill the pots. They seem to embody the traits of Big B's teachers: bright and cheery, helpful, and down-to-earth. We took home our plants and put them in the decoupaged pots, filling them with rich organic soil to help them grow. As cheesy as it is, the metaphor is just too appropriate to pass up. We wrote on the pots' rims, 'Thank you for helping me GROW.'Big B proudly handed each of his teachers their flowers today. I joined his class for lunch and brought them cupcakes, swallowing bites through choked back tears. This preschool has been a great experience for our whole family, and we look forward to sending little b there one day, not so very far from now.
To Miss D, Miss C, Miss N, Miss M, Miss T, Miss J and Miss L: We will miss you. Thank you for your kind words, your soft voices, your great big hugs, your love and your attention. Thank you for not having expectations of Big B that were based on other children, but on his own strengths and interests. Because of his experience with you, I feel absolutely confident that his transition to Kindergarten will go as smoothly as possible. Thank you all for helping him grow.