Campout, Preschool-style

Last night and this morning Jocelyn has complained about her ear hurting her. I didn't think it was infected - she slept through the night and only complained of it bothering her occasionally - but I thought it would be better to be safe than sorry. So I scheduled an appointment at our pediatrician's this morning... which of course meant she had to miss another day of school. She was SO sad to hear she couldn't go to school today. At drop off, we stopped by her classroom to let her teacher know she'd be absent before taking Molly to her classroom.

On the way back to the car, we passed Jocelyn's classroom yet again. Her teacher Mrs. Snyder called out to us. When we got to the classroom, she told Jocie she had something to show her. Across the hall they had set up a pretend campsite. As part of their curriculum for October they were talking about camping and the outdoors. That day Jocelyn's class was going to get to play in the "campout" room. Since it seemed obvious that Jocie wasn't contagious, Mrs. Snyder invited Jocelyn and I to spend a few minutes exploring the campout room. Mrs. Snyder said to me that she wanted to make sure Jocie didn't miss out on this experience.

It touched me to much that Jocelyn's teacher reached out like this. Jocelyn wouldn't have known the difference if she'd missed out on this activity in school. That Mrs. Snyder went out of her way to make sure Jocelyn got to experience this special area meant the world to both Jocelyn and me. Jocie and I "fished" (with Fisher Price fishing poles and fish with holes in the tails) for a good 10 minutes before we had to leave for our doctor's appointment. It was a special time for me to see Jocie exploring this new and exciting place, and a special time for the two of us to spend together.

I appreciated this special quiet time all the more shortly after when Jocelyn ended up getting a nebulizer treatment that sent her into a speed-like state, running and fidgeting without being able to stop. The rest of the day was very up and down due to the medication, so it was nice to have started the day with a fun and special activity for just the two of us.