A few days before Mother's Day, Emma's school hosted an evening of fun for the preschoolers to celebrate their moms. We were told to wear "gym clothes" and bring our child with us. That evening, we all met in the activity center next to the preschool. As we walked into the building, each parent/child couple was given a colored ribbon. Then we had to find our "team". We were on the blue team and found our group quickly. After some intructions that I didn't understand, a piece of paper was passed around our group. On the paper were eight stations that we were supposed to visit. Our group was given a long rope and each mother and child had to hold on to it as we made our way to another part of the school. Seven other teams, full of moms and kids, were doing the same thing. That rope was a creative way to keep everyone together. It seemed like chaos at first, but every team made it to their destination without losing a child (or a mother)!
We ended up in the preschool building. About every 8-10 minutes, we moved to a new station. The first room we went to was filled with pillows to sit on. The lights were turned off and a short video was shown. Pictures of babies and kids with their mothers were combined with short quotes and phrases that were uplifting and honoring to moms. The next room we went to was also filled with pillows. We took our seats and the instructor went around to each child and placed a small amount of lotion on their hands. The children were instructed to give their moms a facial massage. I've given Emma innumerable massages over the last four years, but I never thought to let her give me a massage. I was impressed with how concentrated she became on giving me a good massage. She enjoyed it as much as I did!! What a creative idea!
Next we went to the "Smell-a-Story" room. The instructor (above) was a fabulous story-teller. I understood most of what she told and I was laughing so hard. As she told her story about an old woman who had lost her glasses and couldn't see (so she had to smell her way around), she passed around jars filled with different scents. Some of them were delicious scents, like the fruits and coffee grounds (although Emma said the coffee grounds smelled disgusting), and others were gross, like the jar filled with a dirty sock (which I think had been soaked in vinegar). I loved the jar filled with basil and the lavendar jar, too. As I sat there listening to her story and laughing at her humor, I smiled, grateful that I could be with Emma, I mean, really be with her. I felt so engaged in the evening and I realized that two years ago I probably would have been too scared to go to the school alone with her. What a long way we've come!
One station was a "play" station. The instructor said that the kids get to play quite a bit at school, but that oftentimes the parents are working or are too busy to play with the kids. So, we were set loose in a room filled with toys and we just played together. Emma and I built a train out of giant Legos and organized some of the toys (Yes, organizing is playing, at least for these two Schrag girls!)
One of my favorite stations was the dress-up room. There were so many outfits to choose from. The instructor gave us specific directions, though - the moms had to dress the kids! Here's what I ended up finding for Emma Jae:
After visiting all the stations, we made our way back to the activity center where the teachers had snacks and drinks. Overall, it was a really fun evening. I'm so glad we went. It was definitely a different experience for Emma and for me, and it was a fun bonding experience. I love being Emma's mommy. I love getting to do fun activities with her. I am so proud of her and so proud to be her mom!!
