Zoe and school?

This will be my first entry so I hope it will be somewhat compelling.  For me - the dilemmas and concerns of being a new mommy (of 2 years) was impressive enough to start a conversation about. 

My most recent adventure has been putting my daughter Zoe in preschool and... taking her out. She is very independent and social and we felt, at first that she would do well to be with other kids more than she had been. However, other factors played a role; creating time for my work-life and a new baby on the way. Both being good-enough reasons for preschool on their own. Moving a career forward in small blocks of time can be eh hum challenging. We also wanted to make sure that we were creating enough stimulation for Zoe as well as attempting to offset any possible jealousy of the new baby with the distraction of school-life. Yet, after a good trial period - one solid month from 9:30-4PM (enough time for everyone to adjust) well, I just wasn't sold on my own brilliant plan any longer. Nothing really seemed "wrong" with the school. The teachers were attentive - a little limited in their child development philosophy - but the curriculum seemed decent enough.  The other kids seemed really sweet and always welcomed Zoe, etc. You see, when picking her up from school, I would spy through the gate (hopefully not encouraging others, of the non-parental role, to do the same) and I would see her either clinging to the teachers or finally just sitting alone, staring at her shoes. Seeing her not playing with the other kids like she always had in other situations was foreign to me. That was what did it for me- there is no reason that a 2 year old should not be engaged whenever there is ample opportunity. Not to mention that she would often talk to her dolls and tell them, "I miss you all day."  Almost every day that I picked her up, she told me that she missed mommy and daddy and she had been crying in school.  Looking back, I can't believe I waited so long but I wanted to give it a fair shake for all the reasons mentioned above. Plus, what made the decision even more complex, is that she would get excited about specific things at school which had us waiver.

Currently, she is mostly at home with mom and we go to a "mommy and me" type of school where I take her for two days from 12-2PM. She gets to socialize with other kids and still have me nearby. I've noticed that she is more clingy than she used to be and hope we haven't already traumatized her. I have yet to find a solution for my time management - especially when it comes to working from home.  Now we have the added dilemma of figuring out what exciting activities to do on the days that she is not in school.  But I'm sure this will be another adjustment period as it seems parenthood is chock full of them - ad infinitum. Thankfully, I do have one full-day offered by Israel's mom. Israel is going to take her on Friday afternoons and if I can get one more day covered by a Hebrew speaking nanny, I would be set for a little while, that is, until the new arrival comes. 

Any ideas for cool things to do on days off? We were thinking music, gymnastics (though she may still be a little young), art and, of course, finger painting and story time are always staples.