Travel to Katerina & Beyond: JULY 2008

July went by so fast. Katerina went to camp at her nursery school for 6 weeks, ending July 31. She did very well, except for the first day when she cried and wouldn't let me leave for 2 hours. Even though she was at the same school, she was in a different room, with different teachers and there were only 2 kids from her 3's class. She needs time to feel comfortable in new surroundings and with new groups of kids.

I had the opportunity to observe her several times during the month since I am the treasurer for the July 08-June 09 school year and we've had a couple of emergency board meetings related to an enrollment issue; I also have to go in every week to sign checks. It breaks my heart to see her always by herself in the yard or with a teacher. I had noticed it the few times I saw her during the school year outside, and I've also observed it at birthday parties. There were also several occasions when camp let out that everyone would gather in the side yard and continue to play. Katerina would drag me over to the yard and want to stay, but would just stand and watch. One day last week she sat very close to a group of 5 girls who were playing with gravel and proceeded to play with the gravel by herself. I spoke to the teachers and to the Director and none of them thought there was a problem. They said she interacts very well but is shy about initiating play with others. Which is certainly not the case once she's comfortable with kids. She's very much the initiator. The teachers said she is on the young side (October birthday) and it is developmentally appropriate. They believe we'll see a lot of development in this area during the upcoming school year.

Katerina and I spent a few days at the Jersey Shore - Point Pleasant with Phyllis, Jessica, and Julianne while Constantin worked on some projects at home. We had such a good time; very relaxing, beautiful weather and lots of fun.