I have some pretty good news for moms of pre-school age kids.

Really good news.  
Because Joy School has been re-worked, new and improved by my amazing sister and sister-in-law, and can now be used to bring even more joy to children all around the world:)
I just have to share that little bit of excitement because I am head-over-heels in love with that little program.  Not just because my Grandma and parents created it and it was part of our family culture:
(that’s me with my Grandma and her sweet glasses)
But I’m even more endeared to it because it’s now part of my family culture.  I think I love it even more the more the years go by. 
Because I got to be the teacher.  So all the things my kids learned, I learned right along with them.  I know all the songs, I know all the stories.  We share that, my kids and I.  And it’s crazy how much those things still come up in our day-to-day lives even now that my kids are turning into towers.  
This sounds dramatic but to me, so much of who they are reflects those Joy School years. 
Maybe every kid reflects things they learned in preschool in their regular lives.  Maybe I just notice it in mine because I got to do it with them.  I “speak that language.”  And that makes me so happy.
Every Halloween we sing about the “Mean Old Witch with a Hat.”  Every Thanksgiving the song about the pilgrims that came across the “rolly polly sea” comes up.  I get excited when I see their “spontaneous delight” and I’m sure one of the biggest reasons they examine and appreciate nature as much as they do is because they internalized “the Joy of the Earth.”  Same with the “Joy of the Body.”  I think of Joy School every time I hear about or visit a retirement home.  Here’s Elle coming out of her Joy School Christmas performance at one:

 (and that’s Grace in the front…cannot melt my heart more right this minute)

Here’s Grace’s performance when she was big enough:

My four oldest are Joy School graduates.

And although Lu didn’t graduate in the midst of her special needs pre-school years, she sure had some great lessons from some pretty adorable teachers who had internalized it themselves:

I can hardly stand how sweet these pictures are to me.
Anyway, I could go on and on about the JOY I feel from Joy School (I already wrote about it a bunch HERE and HERE), but I’ll just sign off this post with a little tear of sadness that those years are all over, but also a tear of joy that I got to be such a part of those years with my kids.  That the pre-school years are a part of us, not just them.
I also love the friendships I made with the moms I did this with.  I learned so much from them, shared so much with them, so endeared to them because of what they gave my children when it wasn’t my turn to teach:
(Love and miss those Virginia moms…one of them lives here in the desert by me now which is kind of fun.)
Click HERE for more information about the new and improved Joy School at ValuesParenting or HERE for more information at Power of Moms (same materials, different portals).  There is a sale going on at Power of Moms until tomorrow so go check it out quick!  To get the discount through Values Parenting use coupon code RUTHEYRE (my Grandma who’s birthday we celebrated on the 9th).  That sale goes through August 21st.  
From a more “seasoned” mother to new pre-school moms, there’s not a better recommendation I could give…give those kids (and yourself) Joy School!

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