Ukraine Adoption

"She is so cheerful"

I'm not sure why I get a little anxious whenever it's time to meet with teachers in the periodic conferences. You think you know your child, and you just hope there are no surprises, at least not any of the bad kind. But it was time to meet with Tara's teachers because she had turned three and is now in the pre-school area for 3-5 year olds. She is the youngest one in the group. Is she keeping up?

Her teachers tell me she is definitely keeping pace with her new environment. She is learning to write her name, and to count, and to sing all kinds of new songs. We believe she is behind a bit on her English, but that's to be expected since her first language was Ukrainian. She says full sentences with complete confidence. Her stories are sometimes hard to follow, and can go on and on, but you don't even care because the expressions on her face are priceless.

She knows lots of colors, can cut well with scissors, and most of all, "she is so cheerful." Little Tara Vika likes new challenges, we already knew that, and she has the courage to take them on. And, she has made lots of new friends, they told me.

Last week when I picked her up from school, two boys darted out of the class and ran by shouting, "C'mon Tara!" And off she ran, down the long hall with her buddies, and they all three slid under a table to hide. I could see their little feet but I pretended not to know where they were. Their giggles gave them away. A sweet way to end a day.