Preschool Pick Up

This post was meant to be sent while we were still in Podsosnovo, Russia. I miss Pod.

It's like pulling teeth to upload pics so it's taken sometime. I had a breakthrough this morning with a complying dial up connection and babes who were engaged in building a castle in the kitchen while Nate cleaned up! Sweet!

Desi goes to preschool 5days a week and stays from breakfast till after naptime. He's had some ups and downs but overall is really doing well for a little guy who doesn't speak the language everyone else in the school does.

We've recently discovered that for some reason he's been placed in the 5-6 year old class. What strikes me most about this are the little girls and how attune they are to Desi. They look after him and are quite motherly toward him; and it sometimes carries over to me. Watching over the stroller, helping me with Zoe, making sure we get all our stuff, and on mornings when Des is reluctant to enter the classroom they take his hand and lovingly, but assertively, usher him into the classroom.

So I finally went to pick him up last week with a camera and took some great shots of these great little kids. They have been really very nice to DPJ and I'm very grateful for it!

It was cutecutecute when I pulled the camera out -- they are congregated instantly and posed to perfection without any coaching. They know they're cute!

On the bench. Sasha is the boy laying down (I don't know many of their names) he became Desi's instant friend. A really sweet boy who would often caress Desi's face. I don't think he was feeling well on this day.

Des seemed to be more subdued in personality during his time at school. He couldn't talk much, of course, because he doesn't speak Russian yet. When I would pick him up, he would immediately begin talking to me, literally nonstop, and his teachers and classmates would look on and listen in wonder to his little enthusiastic voice.

Here are the women bringing in breakfast to the classrooms. Each class has their own attendants who bring in the meals, etc (Desi's is actually the younger one) . Note the pail, perhaps with water or kasha (hot cereal), and the bread wrapped in a cloth, the tea pot and a little dish of butter or jam.

This is Sasha. Desi's bestbud in Russia.

Spiderman made an appearance one day. This is Sasha all dressed up and posing with the ladies. Oh! It looks like one of DPJ's Superman capes is also being sported. They were definitely intrigued with Desi's toys, etc.