First Day of School 2011

Today was P's first day of school! She's in her second year of pre-school.  I think she'll have another year before heading off to kindergarten.  

This year I'm actually a bit worried.  Her school went through some changes and there is a new director.  She has yet to talk to the parents and let them know if there are any changes to the philosophy or direction of the preschool.  I can tell they want to go more towards a disciplined and educational route vs the developmental philosophy of where it was before....although no one has come out and said it to the parents. 

I have a strong belief that children learn best through play at this age.  Yes, they need to be structured but not at this young of an age.  I worry they may make P learn how to write and know her letters though workbooks and a structured setting. If this is the case I know she will rebel and I worry this will define a negative attitude towards learning.  This is my worst case scenario and I pray it does not come to pass.  And if it does I pray I may be ready to make good choices for her and to place her in a better setting.  

My idea of school has changed dramatically over the past year.  Before P entered school I thought it would be a place I'd send her to daily where she would get educated, both socially and academically. However, I would not be that involved. In other words, I was mirroring what my parents did.  Once she was in school I thought that it's not just about the education and the teachers but the families you become integrated with.  They are and will continue to be a huge part of the "village" that raises the kids.  

Now, after one year of school and being very disappointed by the Catholic system that took over after the last director was booted out, I have a new thought.  Basically, no one will ever know my child like I do. School is a place where she will get her basic education and hopefully a little more.  However, I will be the one to take her knowledge, experiences and wisdom to another level.  My choice of school is based on who her classmates will be: ie, what is the economic level, education, expectations and parenting style of most of the other families.  School is more about who she's associating with than developing her IQ and smarts.  The basic book smarts she can get anywhere really. But the true thinking is really up to me to foster. In most of the books I've read about childhood education they all seem to agree.  I pray that along the way she will get great, inspirational teachers who will help develop positive ideas on her role in the world.  But I've definitely changed my perspective on the whole thing and am focusing on what I can do to inspire her rather than hoping a system, school or director will. 

So, with that said, I'm excited for another year of school and another year of experience in the educational system.  I wonder how I'll feel next year.  Mostly, I pray P will always continue to love to learn.

Beaver House

I'm so far behind in documenting the little, funny, daily occurrences with P. Trying to play catch up.

A few weeks ago Dave cleaned off the back patio and P proceeded to take things and make a "beaver house".  It was entertaining to see the two of them out there spraying  things down and moving them around.  

The following day P started telling me about beavers and how they smack their tails in the water and how they swim under for safety.  I thought she had it all wrong so I pulled out the ipad and went on Wikipedia to get beaver pictures and info.  Turns out she was totally right!  She knew all these facts about beavers.  Dave and I were shocked.  Neither one of us knows where she got all this info.  We had just come back from Florida so it wasn't from school.  To this day we have no idea how she knows about beavers! 

Last Day of Preschool.

Today was P's last day of preschool. Her last day of the first year. She has two more years to go.  I remember hearing parents talk about these milestones and I thought they were so dumb. And then I had a kid and today feels huge. Again, another thing to mark how fast time is going by.  

In this year P has learned to spot her name,  draw circles, squares, lines, draw things that actually look like what she says she drew, draw the letter A. She's learned to cut with regular scissors, learned so many words I can't keep track. She's learned about friendships, taking turns, sharing, waiting patiently. I find it very interesting how much of her learning at this stage has to do with social learning. It's exhausting for her. I will never forget after her first day of school I asked her how her day was and she said "ahhh, sharing is hard!". We've started on the right track.  The school was great and then a change in our director brought on a whole slew of issues. We'll see how things transition next year but for now I'm thrilled at the education and direction P is getting. I'm thrilled with who she is surrounded by and I'm grateful for Mrs. Eishenreich and Mrs Serino for taking such great care of my darling P.

Getty

We've done some fun things in the weeks since I've last blogged. Best adventure was going to the Getty. I've taken P to the Getty Villa several times but this was her first time to the Getty off the 405.

Their kid's section is amazing. Absolutely amazing!  It's divided into five separate rooms or cubicles, each inspired by art throughout the center.  One room had a giant, backlit, manuscript wall where the kids could draw on it like a dry erase board.  P LOVED it!   She's moved on from a paining phase to a drawing phase so this was her cup of tea. 

The next room was inspired by the King Louis bed located in the museum. This version was small but took up the entire space.  It was done just like the real thing with ornate, blue silk with tassels and rolled pillows on each end. It also had a cubby with books all devoted to beds and sleeping.  P loved bouncing on this bed and grabbing books. 

The third room was inspired by a sculpture I saw when we entered the museum.   The room had foam tubing all connected at various places on the walls.  P could take the tubings out and reconnect them as she pleased.  


The fourth room was inspired by a Hockney painting and it was filled with mirrors to "mirror" the effect Hockney did in his painting. I know P didn't quite get it but she did find it interesting. 


Last was a spot where the kids could draw their own masks. The inspirational painting was one with lots of faces looking at you. I forgot to look up the artist bc I was too crazy following P with crayons and the three masks she was attempting to create all at one time.  

After spending about an hour in the kid's center we went outside to the garden. P saw where we were going and took off running.  She ran and ran and ran. The garden is a maze that leads to a lowered center.  As you're coming in it feels like a giant drain. P was a little drop of water making her way down. 


This was the perfect adventure: she got culture, creativity and exercise!  I couldn't have been happier and  neither was P.  As we drove out of the parking garage she said "ahmazeeeing time Mamma, ahmazeeeing time" and then fell asleep before we hit the first light.