Next week I will register Yi Mei for Kindergarten, Its hard to imagine her in Kindergarten- but my little girl is growing up. Like most five year olds, she enjojys sleepovers with her best friend Ali, loves to dress up and is passionate about fairy tales. She has even begun to play good guys chasing bad guys, a recess game she discovered at school. The biggest change has been in her ability to regulate her emotions. She is able to tell me when she is sad or mad and can empathize when others are upset. The other day she insisted we make a heart for her friend Alison who had a bad day and was very sad.
Yi Mei has matured in some ways, yet she is still so innocent in other ways. She is so eager to show me her artwork that we can barely make it from Day Care to the car. The pictures are always the same- maps leading from our home to her school or pictures of mommy, Freedom and Yi Mei. Though she has progressed from playing with baby dolls to barbies and ponies, most of her imaginary play still revolves around the mother and baby theme. Yi Mei loves stuffed animals and has a mommy and baby set for all her animals (pig, elephant, dog, bunny and monkey). She has a vibrant imagination and will engage in imaginary play for an hour at a time.Yi Mei was so sure her snowman would come to life that she got her flashlight out and checked throughout the night.
Here are some pics of our winter activities- Tea Party with Belle, Princess Day at the zoo and sleepover with Ali:
Yi Mei now loves to read her stories to me and is quite an expressive reader. Listen to her reading Corduroy, a story about a bear who needs a home.
