Good behaviors!

One of Rachel's preschool teachers has begun giving the kids "bean bands" -- brightly colored elastic  wristbands, kind of like hair scrunchies -- for, as Rachel puts it, "good behaviors." When I picked her up tonight (last school day of this holiday-shortened week), she very proudly counted all the bean bands she was wearing on both arms -- 16, the total accumulated this week.

I asked her, naturally, exactly what "good behaviors" she had done to earn so many bean bands.

"There are 3 Bs," she patiently explained. "Be a good worker, be friendly, and don't be hurtful."

Ah, I said. Could you give me some examples?

"Well, today I sat quietly on my bed [actually a floor mat] during nap time, so I was being a good worker. Or sharing toys you're playing with at playtime."

I see. How about being friendly?

"Like, if you see somebody sitting by themselves and they don't have anybody to play with, you'd say 'Do you want to play with me?'"

Apparently Rachel doesn't have the latter problem -- she and three or four of the other girls in class have a pretty close group. When we got to school this morning, two of them ran up and shouted "Rachel, Rachel, come and play with us!"

"I need to take my coat and boots off," Rachel said, a bit crossly. (Later, when I suggested that she tell them she'd love to play but she needed time to take off her coat and boots, Rachel replied, "Well, what I really needed was some space.")

After she was divested of her foul-weather gear, though, she ran over to her friends and they all began free-form dancing in one of the play spaces. I stood there with Joe, the bean-band teacher, watching them for a few minutes, silently grateful that my daughter seems to have the inborn ability to make friends that comes rather hard for me.

"We have a really good group of girls this year," Joe said. And what better lead-in to the long Thanksgiving weekend? I have so much to be thankful for this year, but that my daughter is who she is is top of the list.