Thanksgiving the Pre-school Way

.


Sophie kicked off her week at school with a Thanksgiving party. There is limited space for parking at VCLC, so each class gets to celebrate separately. Sophie's party time is 9:30, so you can only imagine how fun it is for a bunch of 5 year olds to get sugared up on cake and juice as they're just starting their day. Though I suppose it's a better alternative to a full turkey feast to send the kids into a food coma.

The kids marched into the party room with these adorable Indian vests made out of brown paper bags and were also adorned colorful jewelry and a headdress. After working on a craft, they enjoyed a beautifully decorated cake - complete with fondant leaves and all.



Today Sophie came home with this handmade "turkey", that was supposed to be her snack at school. She was so proud of her handiwork that she opted to bring it home so I could take a picture of it rather than eating it like the rest of the kids! It's still sitting on the counter waiting for praise from Daddy.

The Trick or Treat Trot

Oftentimes when I head out for one of my Saturday morning runs with Liz in preparation for our 1/2 marathon, Sophie begs to tag along. My usual response is along the lines of..."One day you'll be able to keep up with Mommy and Liz, but trust me, you'll get tired quickly today so you need to stay home with Daddy. Trust Me." Now I just might have to eat those words seeing as how I could barely keep up with Sophie and Kiki during their first trick or treating extravaganza. If you hadn't already figured it out, Sophie dressed as "Dora the Explorer", and she really played the part..."Doorbell, Candy, RUN!".

In the past, we've gathered with our EastGate friends for a Halloween parade so the kids could show off their costumes, followed by a casual pizza party for all the families. Don't get me wrong - even without trick or treating the candy supply was plentiful (thank goodness the kids always seem to forget about it after a few days and it gradually makes its way to Eric's office). This year, despite the very cold weather and a steady mist, we took the plunge.
While Eric lagged behind with Jack, Sophie and Kiki took the lead and literally ran from house to house. Did I mention that EastGate is an extremely hilly neighborhood? I am still wondering who gave them the idea that trick or treating is akin to a competitive sporting event, but at least they worked hard for all that candy. After only 2 blocks, Sophie's bucket was overflowing (which made me ask, "Did they hand you the candy, or did they let you grab it?").

Turns out that Jack's slow pace was partly due to the fact that he consumed each piece of candy as he collected it. That's what happens when you leave Daddy in charge for a few short minutes! And of course explains why Jack had no more than 2 lollipops and a pack of M&Ms in his bucket.

We happily called it a day after those 2 short, fast blocks of trick or treating and headed to The Dekels for pizza and were quite appreciative of that extra hour for Daylight Savings. And still successfully dodging Jack's first sentence of each day..."Mommy, can I have a treat?"