What an amazing start to the new school year we are having.  I have often said of the four year olds....they come to class the first day as if they had just been away for a long weekend.  So confident.  So ready to experience all that school has to offer. 

Not quite so confident are the three year olds, but still eager and with the exception of a very few, are adjusting as if they just know instinctively that this is a good place and it will be OK.  And, yes, someone who loves them really will come back to pick them up at the end of the day.  So, they begin to feel its alright to have fun in the meantime. 

Trust and confidence go hand in hand.  When a child feels loved and safe and is having fun "playing" while they learn, they begin to grow with the realization of their capabilities.  They begin to risk and try and practice at being successful and pretty soon, they just are!  It is such a gift to see this progression.  Thank you all for giving us (the teachers and myself) the rare privilege of watching their transformation!  I put emphasis on the concept of "learning through play" because, after all, that is and has always been our teaching methodology.  Seems we were on the right track all along.  Please click here to read a great article from the American Academy of Pediatrics on the importance of play to a child's development! 

I can't write you a prescription to have your children play as the article suggests every pediatrician should do.  But... I CAN assign you homework!!!!  Your assignment this weekend, and every day there after, is to PLAY PLAY PLAY. You'll all be the better for it!

Weekly Prayer....  Lord, help me to remember always that the littlest of your children still have great worth and strength in ability.  Help me to nurture them through the growing process so that they will learn and know many important things, but the most important is Your Love and presence in their lives.  Amen.