Lucy has graduated from the Bunny room at school. They didn't have a ceremony or anything, but I did get a little teary as I hugged her teacher Rokeya on the last day. Lu was oblivious, desperate to eat some abandoned Cheerios she'd discovered under a high chair, which mysteriously grossed me out (or just embarrassed me? Maybe because they were someone else's Cheerios?).
So now she is Bear. Raaar! At first, the move seemed like going from first grade to high school. They sleep on mats on the floor during naptime. Are they kidding? They sit at little tables and chairs and eat their snacks off a tray. Like...people. I'm so sure. I was certain she'd be demoted back to the Bunny room within days.
But "raar" indeed! She has slept on a mat for four days in a row. Every successive day, she eats more and more of her snack, less distracted by the novelty of a tray to dump on the floor. The best part about the Bear room is the playground, where they spend most of their time. Lu has never even been to the park! She's afraid of grass! Yet every afternoon, about she and 9 other Bears can be seen wandering around the grubby, sandy playground. They dig, climb, push carts around, eat sand, observe the dog in the neighboring yard. They even paint on big sheets of paper taped to the side of the building. On Wednesday, I watched one Bear, smocked in an adult-sized t-shirt to cover her already sand- and snack-soiled clothes, stick a chubby paint brush in her mouth, then flash me a neon-green grin. They assure me the paint is non-toxic.
My own little Bear seems to be adjusting well. Yesterday, she protested when I picked up her sandy, sticky body to go home, the once-docile Bunny now ferocious in her opinion. For now, the mama Bear is bigger and has the car keys, so we went home.