Preschool is under way, and the outlook is good

This week, I worked in Gus's preschool classroom for the first time. His school is a co-op, so parents take a volunteer shift helping with the class once or twice a month.

Knowing Gus and reflecting on his, er, mixed performance at summer school a few months ago, I was both excited and nervous to see how he was doing firsthand. When we arrive at school most mornings, Gus is bubbling over with enthusiasm (read: sometimes he's a little hyper). I hadn't heard any negative reports from Gus's teacher, but I was curious to see how he settled in once it was time to get down to business.

Class begins with a few minutes of free play, and then the kids clean up and head to circle time. During circle time, the children learn the theme for the day. I was particularly concerned about the amount of quiet sitting and listening required of this portion of the day. Big G can have a hard time sitting still, and my presence would add a different element. I was pleasantly surprised to see that he did fine. Sure, he got a little antsy, but so did many. In short, he was nothing out of the ordinary.

The rest of the morning proceeded uneventfully. I was in charge of the toys and games area, so Gus started with me. We played Candy Land with another boy; he headed to the dramatic play area, where the kids can engage in imaginative play and use the little slide and seesaw; he painted a picture of a furry friend for art time.

At the end of the day, when we gathered for song time before snacks, I was seated across the circle from Gus, and I was struck all of a sudden by how grown-up he looked sitting there with his little legs crossed. I think because Gus is my youngest, sometimes I tend to think of him as younger than he actually is. For heaven's sake, he's 4, and I still carry him into school sometimes. That never would have happened, say, when Paul was in preschool and I was towing along a little Gus.

Don't get me wrong, Gus is still very much Gus. He has not magically transformed into an uber-polite and demure little man. (After all, this morning he was busted painting the bathroom  walls with toothpaste - for the second time.) Overall, though, I think he's learning and growing. On Friday, the teacher stopped me on my way out the door. She said Gus is really settling down and getting into the routine. My hope with preschool was that its structured setting would be good for him, would help prepare him for full-time school. It's looking like this experience is time well spent for him.