Category: Blog

Report cards

Posted on by Admin

October just zoomed by and here we are in Novemer and the day of my son's first ever report card.  I have a nostalgic love of report cards.  My mother still has all of my old ones from Grade 3 right up to the point I graduated high school, not that long ago 🙂

Despite getting off to a slow start and being sick for pretty much the entire time that he has been attending school (we've since found out that he has allergies), Lee is off to a wonderful start.  I won't get into any specifics, but I couldn't be more pleased than I am with the report card we received.  He's hitting all of his markers developmentally and turning into quite the social butterfly.  While he was at home with me, I tried my best to get him involved in as many opportunities for play with other kids as I could - hosting playgroups, going to music classes and early enrichment classes.  But preschool is like one big playgroup with someone else facilitating.  There's music, art, creative play, academics all while bonding with a diverse group of his peers.

This is one of four report cards that we'll receive this year.  It will be interesting to see how he progresses.  In the meantime, picture day happened last week, there are ongoing rehearsals for the holiday show, BoxTops collections (more about this later) and an upcoming school sponsored fundraising event.  It's going to be a busy month.

Book Fair

Posted on by Admin

I just got back from volunteering at the Scholastic Book Fair our school is having this week.  This is another fundraising activity at out school and one that I whole heartedly approve of.  Anyone who knows me knows the passion I have for books, and children's books in particular.

The fair is set up in the gym throughout the week.  Each class takes turns coming down to browse and purchase books.   A letter was sent home last week in the orange folder, alerting parents to the upcoming fair and included an order form.  Some parents chose to fill in the form with specific books that they wanted their kids to purchase and sent a check or cash along for the total.  Others, myself included, put some money in an envelope and sent it in the folder.  When their child went to the fair he/she chose the books they wanted to purchase, within their budget.  As a volunteer, I helped the teachers/kids locate and select age appropriate titles to purchase.  The best part for me was getting the chance to share some of the books that Lee and I enjoy reading with the teachers and students.  I was pleased to see a few books illustrated by Kadir Nelson and titles such as The House In The Night by Susan Marie Swanson and The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney.

The teachers did a good job explaining to the kids how much money they had for their purchase, the cost of each book they selected and how much money remained for an additional selection or change.  A good practical lesson in money and spending.

It was really great to see how excited the kids were by the books and reading.  Nice job, parents!

Curriculum Night

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We reached a milestone in October – Noey gets dropped off at school and awakes from her nap without any tears or sadness.  Yeah!

This month the school held a curriculum night where they presented a PowerPoint presentation regarding the Montessori philosophy and photos of the  children at “work.” After the general session, the parents were invited to their child’s classroom where the teachers discussed the daily routine and demonstrated some of the ongoing activities.  Noey’s day begins with a open work cycle where the children are encouraged to engage in the various activities in the classroom.    The work cycle includes puzzles, sorting, arts and crafts, washing dishes, bathing baby dolls and other hands-on activity.  After the morning work cycle the teachers lead group time which typically includes storytelling, musical instruments or song.  The children are not required to participate in group time and may continue working on their individuals activities.  Each morning the children also take a walk around the neighborhood.  They usually walk to one of the neighborhood parks to play outdoor or local fruit stand to purchase their morning and/or afternoon snack.  Each day they learn about and taste a new fruit or vegetable.  After the morning walk (or gym time) they come back to the classroom for lunch and their nap.  I was advised that Noey gets tired during their nature walks and confessed that I often use the stroller when we’re out and about. 

A few weeks ago the teachers organized a social where the parents are asked to bring in a favorite dish or one representing their culture.   The social was held in the school’s gym.  It was a good opportunity to meet the other parents and observe the children at play together.

Halloween candy buy back

Posted on by Admin

I hope everyone had a safe and Happy Halloween.  This year's Halloween was the best yet since Lee was born.  The day started with a party at his school followed by our neighbourhood community association parade and festivities, then topped off with trick-or-treating.

The school party was the first parent association organized fund raiser for the year.  There were 3 separate events throughout the day - Halloween party for grades pre-k-2, party for grades 3-5 and a dance for grades 6-8.  I don't know how the other parties went but the pre-k party was tons of fun.  A big hit was a crawl through tunnel we fashioned out of cardboard boxes.  The kids loved it!  There was copious amounts of food for both adults and children and plenty of activities to keep the young ones entertained.

After the party at school we joined the festivities put on by our neighbourhood community association.  This year was the first halloween parade and festival.  The night was topped off with trick-or-treating and an exhausted boy by 6 pm.  I had to carry him the last couple of blocks because he just ran out of steam.

This year we are going to donate the bulk of our candy to the Halloween Candy Buy Back program.  Participating dentists buy your candy for $1/pound (or other treats) then send it to the troops overseas.  Just enter your zip code at the site to find participating dentists in your area.  Beats eating it all myself 🙂

How was your Halloween?

The Phase In

Posted on by Admin

Last month Noey began a twos program at a Montessori school on the UWS. She attends the school three days a week from 8:30 am (or whenever I drop her off) to 3:30 pm. There are ten children in Noey’s class and three teachers.

As a new student, the school required Noey to participate in phase-in period which I thought would be difficult as a working parent. Luckily, her teachers were extremely accommodating in accelerating the period based on Noey’s comfort level. Although Noey was only scheduled to attend school for one hour her first day of school (with a parent in the classroom), she adjusted so well that she was able to stay until lunch. I was able to leave after 45 minutes in the classroom and her father picked her up. The next day she stayed through lunch and the following day she stayed through her nap and the phase-in period was complete. Typically, the teachers increase the time by an hour each day and slowly move parents out of the classroom as children become comfortable with their teachers and environment.

The school does not have a kitchen so parents must pack a lunch each day. I packed Noey’s lunch the first week and quickly learned how difficult it is come up with a different lunch each day. Especially in a nut free school that does not permit peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches. I decided to enroll in the school’s Red Rabbit program which includes a daily hot lunch, fruit & veggie snack and drink. It’s an additional cost but well worth the money for the time saved trying to come up with a lunch each day. The school does provide Cheerios and milk for the children to snack on in the morning and a fresh fruit or vegetable as a snack. The children are not permitted to have sippy cups. As part of the schools focus on personal care, children are encouraged to pour their own beverage, use glass dishware and wash their dishes. This may seem extreme to some parents, but the children seem to enjoy it. Washing dishes is a play activity for them.

decision

Posted on by Admin

I will only move Brayden from 180 if he gets into Hunter or perhaps the Special Music School. I could not be happier with the educational environment, the parents and children and the goals of the school. I love that he gets homework and they are teaching him to have a critical voice of the book he reads. Too cute. In addition the monthly assignment he has is really well-rounded.

It's adorable to walk into the classroom and see the children rapt with attention- eyes completely focused on the teacher. Brayden said last weekend he missed his teacher :).

A big decision, bcs it's soooo easy to get caught up in the "designer handbag" trap, but 180 will prepare Brayden for a top school. I know as a parent my voice will be heard and I can make a difference.

Will work with a few parents to get an after school program next yr teaching a second language.

Crying, Screaming, Throwing

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Last week Joshua threw some of the most outrageous fits I'd ever seen. When we arrived in his 12-18 month old classroom, he decided that he was not having whatever I packed for breakfast. He did not want cinnamon raisin bread, he did not want a banana and he most certainly did not want to be taken out of the high chair.

His teacher suggested that maybe he wanted a nutrigrain bar, which occasionally he gets as an afternoon snack. I was not a fan of giving him so much sugar first thing in the morning, but I was trying to get out the door to get to work, and at that point, whatever stopped his fit worked for me.

Well, Nutrigrain bars were not the answer. He grabbed the bar and mashed it into mush and threw it onto the floor. He cried and kicked and shock the tray on the high chair. What did this boy want?? I couldn't leave him in this hysterical state, so I took him out of the chair against very clear protest, and brought him into his older brother's room to see if seeing and eating with his brother helped. I had never seen him act like this and thought maybe something was seriously wrong. He eat one or two ambien of Amari's grapes, and then quickly reminded me that it was not what we wanted. He resumed crying and whining and sulked around the room.

I took him back to his classroom and told his teacher that seeing big brother did not help. I sat on the playmat and tried to distract him with toys and hugs and kisses. After about five minutes of waving different toys in front of him, he finally gave in and sat on my lap. I knew he was not pleased with the situation, but he was calming down, and I could leave for work.

I felt horrible getting into the car knowing that my baby had a need and I couldn't figure it out in order to fulfill it. Well, lucky for me, two days later he threw the same fit at home as we were getting ready for daycare. He was hungry and would not wait until we got to daycare to eat breakfast like we do everyday, so I put him in his chair and started offering the gamut. Bread, no. Bagel, no. Juice, no. Banana, no. Yogurt, no. Grapes, no. Orange, no. String cheese? no.

I went to the pantry and opened the door and started taking about boxes and bags of foods he had tried. After each package he shook his head violently and continued crying. Craisins, no. Pasta, no. Apple sauce, peanut butter, eggo waffles? No. No. NO. Oatmeal? Silence. Oatmeal... YES! Oatmeal, the boy wants oatmeal! Hallelujah! I figured it out and now I can get zithromax this boy to daycare and hopefully make it to work before 9:30.

The orange folder

Posted on by Admin

On the first (or second, I can't quite remember) day of school, Lee brought home an orange folder with his name on it in his bookbag.  The is the primary method of communicating with the teacher.  The concept is sort of like sending notes by carrier pigeon back in the olden days.  School newsletters, forms, menus, announcements, notes from the teacher, the work your child did that day, are all placed in this folder in the bookbag on a daily basis.  Conversely, I can send notes to the teacher, money for Lee to purchase items from bake sales, and return forms by putting them in the folder.  The teacher empties the folder each day and routes the contents to the appropriate place in the school or reads the note and acts on it.  It's quite an efficient system as long as the folder is emptied and returned each day by both parties, parents and teachers.

For the most part, I've been returning the folder daily, although there has been one or two days that it's remained on the dining room table.  What I did not do was to figure out a way to store all of the stuff that comes home in the folder, so it was accumulating into yet another pile of stuff to figure out what to do with.  I'm a pack rat and information junkie so it's hard to just throw things away.  This past weekend I finally got a large 3 ring binder and a pack of dividers with the months of the year tabs and set about filing everything away.  This was so simple.  Why didn't I think of it before?

I now have a chronological record of all of the orange folder communication.  Lee's coloring pages and artwork that are not displayed are currently in the pockets of the binder.  This is only a temporary solution because at the rate that he's been bringing them home, those pockets will be filled by the end of November so I'll have to think of another solution for them soon.  Perhaps they'll just get their own orange folder.

Do you have a storage solution for your child's artwork that you would like to share?  Please leave a comment with it below.

Fundraising

Posted on by Admin

Time has just been flying by.  I've survived our school's first fundraising drive for the year and, I'm not proud to say, my sales were abysmal.  When your child enrolls in preschool, whether it's public or private, get ready for the onslaught of fundraising events.  Our school requires a $300 fundraising contribution each year per family.  There are 2 types of fundraising events, the ones that are school sponsored and ones that are sponsored by the parents association.  The $300 limit applies to fundraising for school sponsored events only.  This year, school sponsored events are for Innisbrook and World's Finest Chocolates (gosh, I remember selling those when I went to school).  This first event was for Innisbrook.  I sold products to a whopping 3 people, not even close to my $300 target.  I'm at a disadvantage because I'm currently not working and my family and close friends are in Canada.  The company does not ship there.  Darn!  That limited my pool of potential purchasers to the few moms that I socialize with.  I have to admit that I'm not the world's best salesperson and it really showed.  There are any number of reasons I can find to explain away the results, but the fact is that better organization and a lack of procrastination could've resulted in a much better haul this time out.  It's a lesson learned for next time.  I WILL reach that $300 target,  it just might mean firing up my own chequebook :).

The First Month

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It has been almost 1 month, since Surta joined Family Annex. She loves it! We are also happy to be a part of her school Family.

We had a first “parents to parents” meeting. Each parent chat with other parent for about 7 minutes. And later they introduced each other and their kids to the group. Surprisingly only 7 families were present. All three teachers also introduced themselves. The teachers mentioned parents about a typical day – start time, lunch time, out side time, working time, nap time etc. They explained in detail about project for coming month(s). Birthday time- no cakes and no
cookies!

Surta knows all her classmates and most parents & siblings. She and few other kids have nick names! They have different activity areas such as mini studio, dramatic area, manipulative area, block area, cozy area, dramatic play area and light table area. Also has music and movement time. She hums some new songs. And some times talks about her activity of the day. She never answers “how was your day?” But she talks a lot about school at bed time and with other older friends and adults. Most days she eats her lunch partially. Some days does not nap. She also has fun time playing with big kids in their “up stair” class. After 3:30 nursery class and pre K class merge.

Parents receive a daily journal via E-mail. The Teachers document 2/3 kids experience and conversation in an activity that day. And mention all other kids’ activity areas. The school organized pot luck dinner in nearby garden. Nice time to meet with kids and families through out the school. One of the family organize pot luck picnic at central park in week end. It was an informal relaxing time to see kids playing, parents interacting with them and chatting with each other.