Deer!

We saw 4 deer grazing in the field across from our apartment complex this morning. It was so nice to see!

The entire morning went well. SPie slept in a little and things went much smoother. I was 30 minutes later for work, but it was worth it. Daycare drop off was so smooth thanks to the gymnastics class that was going on when we arrived. She loves the class and ran to give the gymnastics teacher a big hug. It was so nice to see.

Now for my daily day care complaint (believe me, I wish had nothing to complain about as much as you wish I would stop complaining!)...
Everyday I bring SPie to school with boots on and change her into crocs to wear in the classroom. I leave the boots in her bin with her hats and mittens. I noticed the crocs are looking a little dirty, so today I asked the teacher if they change her into the boots when they go outside. No, they don't! That's right, in the cold of Illinois, they have been taking my daughter outside with crocs on! Even though there is a perfectly good pair of boots sitting in her cubbie! Can't they see there are holes in crocs!!! Don't they know holes are not good for little feet in the cold outside???

I was so floored I didn't say anything. When I could finally speak again, I asked if they've been putting the hat and mittens on her. Thankfully, they have been. At least that's something. Granted, I did not explicitly explain that crocs were for indoor wear only, but I didn't think I had to!

I called the Hubs and he wants me to speak with the school director. I'm a little concerned about doing this because I don't want an annoyed teacher to treat my daughter worse because we've complained. I'll have to think about it over the weekend. I'm sure there is a positive way that I can spin this.

I was thinking of expressing some of my concerns to the director along with some "suggestions" that might resolve my concerns. A few suggestions I had were to have the children's pictures on the birthday balloons so the parent's can know all the children, have the children bring in family photos for a picture board and have the teachers provide a weekly lesson plan with the planned activities for the week. I was also thinking of a first day classroom orientation for parents. It wasn't until the 2nd week that I noticed the bulletin board with the daily activities. It would have been great if someone had pointed it out the first day.

If you have any ideas from your own daycare/preschool experiences, I would love to hear them.