Good times at preschool

Two and I went to Big Girl's class at preschool today to read a couple of books to the kids, and had a fantastic time. The kids really seemed to enjoy the books I brought (Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! and Because a Little Bug Went Ka-Choo! (Beginner Books(R))), and Big Girl was thrilled to have me there. All the kids were wearing pajamas today (so cute!), and the moms-reading-books gig was a part of that. I was one of four moms to read during today's class. The school is having special events all week.

After Big Girl got out of school, she changed into her civvies and we went out for lunch with my mom. Good food, plus it was a mystery shop so I'll get reimbursed for it. Bonus! I think my mom really enjoys doing shops with me, because she likes to make suggestions about things I should include in my report (usually very good insights), and she likes the idea that someone, somewhere, is interested in what she has to say.

Wednesday afternoon and evening activities at work with the herd of young children have left me exhausted - and I'm still not quite finished with my teaching for the semester, either. This two jobs business is a bit overwhelming this week, mostly because there's so much grading for the big kids (my college students) and I have so many ideas and so much excitement about the new job with the younger kids.

I'm also really stoked about one of our upcoming projects for the kids at church. It's called Read to Feed, and it benefits one of my favorite charities, Heifer International. Kids get sponsors who commit to pay them a certain amount for each book they read, and then the kids read and record their books, and then collect the money to support Heifer. I would love to see some of the elementary schools participate in this program next school year. It's not tied to any particular religious group, it's secular and just benefits Heifer, and I think it would be a great way to motivate some of those kids to read more. But I digress. I'm going to do it this summer with my church kids, and I hope they will find it as much fun as I do.