Mara had her two-year-old little buddy Corban over one day last week. So with three under three, I decided we were going to play at the park. I loaded the two-year-olds in the double jogging stroller, put my 11-month-old in Baby Bjorn, and off we went.
We always go in the afternoon, so a morning trip to the park was definitely a new experience! We found it completely deserted, and I was excited: baby swings, big swings, little slides, big slides–all to ourselves! How much simpler it would be to watch these two, without the chaos of the after-school mob of teenagers and toddlers.
But Mara was beside herself! The best part of coming to the park is seeing all the other “tids,” as she calls them.
“Where-zis tids?” she asked, in a heartbroken voice. “Where-zis tids?” (Where is [are] the kids?”)
“They’re all in school, Mara,” I told her. “They go to school every morning, and they learn to read books and write their letters and they color and play.”
This was the first time she heard about “school,” but she didn’t miss a beat!
“Mara go to school! All by myself!” she exclaimed energetically. “Read & write!”
So for the next few days, Mara kept telling me that she wanted to go to school with the “tids,” and she wanted to learn to read and write.