We love Sebastian's daycare. He loves his daycare. All of us are happy that he gets to spend time everyday with his Toddler 1 pals. The teachers and staff are amazing. They focus on making sure that the kids learn to be 'good little citizens', by which (at this age) they mean the kids learn to be gentle, to share, to understand they can't always get their own way and to help other people. If one of them starts to cry, one of the toddlers often swoops in quickly with a pat on the back or a favorite toy. It is really heartwarming. We often jokingly call his classmates Tiny Pals. They are not so much tiny, as Sebastian is quite large.
In this shot, Sydney and Matthew are giving Sebastian a hello hug. He just towers over them.
I prefer it when the other kids initiate hugs. Sebastian tends to underestimate his size and strength in relation to his pals. Hugs often become affectionate tackles, which sometimes become a classroom game of pig pile.
His class is 10 kids per day (a couple of the kids are part time, so in total Sebastian has 11 or 12 classmates). It is important to us that we know all their names. Phil and I saw hi/bye to everyone by name everyday. We ask Sebastian questions about his pals. We make up stories about them. Sydney is the only girl. Her hair often comes out of her bunches, giving her awesome faux-hawks. Matthew is very dexterious. He, Justin and Ethan generally try to mug me when I enter the room. I've lost my wallet and phone to those three more than once. Thomas has the sweetest smile and is ALWAYS happy to see everyone. William is new (now that crazy Charlie has left). He is also half British. I suspect that when the weather gets a bit cooler, he and Sebastian will instruct the others in the fine art of a nice cup of tea and a sit down. Michael and Taku are often waiting by the gate. I guess being the youngest in the group, they are on sentry duty. Hmm...I'm missing a few pals. I'll need to figure out who today at pickup.