A Classroom Beat-Down

February 10, 2009
Every Tuesday night, I rush home after work, race in the house, quickly change AC's clothes and swoop her out to the car, when I take her to our ECFE class. Tonight is no different. When she first started her classes, AC hated them. She cried and whined, and one night refused to even go in her classroom. After that, we had an upswing, and she now loves class. In fact, Tuesdays are probably the best day of the week for my husband, as he can bribe her to do virtually anything by reminding her that she has school in the evening.

AC tolerates the parent play-together time despite the fact that I am the least cool player in the world, but really, she's holding out for Circle Time and Ring Around the Rosy. She knows that once she knocks these two things off, she will be offered a snack. Much like her mother and her father, she is not one to turn down food, especially if it's free. I smirked to myself as she planted herself down at the snack table and chowed down on her sugar cookie and her apple juice while the other kids around her cried and screamed for their mothers, who were leaving the room for parenting class. Independence. Love it.

Following parenting class, the other toddlers were literally collapsed in heaps around the room, exhausted and whining. Not AC. She screamed in delight at my appearance, and quickly ran to the sandbox. Her answer when I asked if she wanted to go home? "No, thanks." Despite the fact that she does not care to follow my directions, she is at least polite. Eventually, I got her out of the sandbox and we made progress toward going home.

As she was gleefully streaking through the room, she bumped into another student. Head to head contact. The other little cried. And she cried and cried and cried, as though she had been told that someone was taking away her security blanket. AC stood stunned, not understanding what was happening. The Crier left class with her mother, and I packed AC up. All the way home, she repeated, "Sorry! Head! Hurt!" It both broke and warmed my heart that even at her young age, she can show such empathy.