Missing Gingerbread

So Will enjoyed his last day ever yesterday at Gingerbread Nursery School in Norman. He was so sad as we pulled away from there when he realized he wouldn't be back. I was sad, too.

But honestly, I am glad he even got to go. Will started in the Tuesday-Thursday Giant class in January. On a whim, I called the Gingerbread office in January to see if there was an opening. My best friend Alison's daughter Beth attended Gingerbread and suggested I called. Although I didn't really know a lot about Gingerbread before hand, I did know that it is wildly popular in Norman.

So when I called, I didn't expect them to have a spot. But I happened to call the same day that another student told them he wouldn't be back for the next semester. They told me if I came and enrolled Will right then that he could have the spot. The rest is history, as they say.

Will loved Gingerbread from his first day. There were 33 kids in his class and 5 wonderful teachers, including Gingerbread's Director Teacher Skye. And Teacher Skye is AMAZING. She plays the guitar and sings and teaches the kids silly songs. They love her.

When I went in to the class to observe the first time, Will had been there a little more than a month. He was already ingrained into the system. And the system worked! The kids knew exactly what was expected of them all the time. They listened to instruction and if they didn't, they knew what to expect. It was amazing.

Just during the spring semester, Will went on field trips to the Omniplex/Oklahoma Science Museum, to take a hay ride, to go fishing, to the dentist's office, and even rode the Heartland Flyer to Purcell. That is just since January! Gingerbread has its own bus (with seat belts), so the kids would pile in and go, go, go!

And the playground at Gingerbread is second to none. There are bunnies you can pet, a HUGE sand box, the big hill, monkey bars, teeter totters, a zip line, forts and everything else kids love to do outside. They had a policy of letting the kids play hard and get dirty and told you so upfront. It is my philosophy exactly. I loved the outdoor activities that Will loved, too!

Will learned the correct order of the alphabet, can now identify the letters and the sounds they make, write his name clearly, count to 100 and many more things academic since he started. But if you asked Will, he never knew he was "learning;" he says he was just having fun.

Gingerbread is a special place. I am sad Ryan never got to go and that Will only got to go one semester. But more than that, I am grateful that he is now an official "alumni." Teacher Skye, the Sutherlins love you and think you are FABULOUS! Thanks to all the teachers for all the amazing things they do and the way they love our kids.