Currently feeling:
stunned
Showing posts with label Pre-K. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pre-K. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Crazy Hat Day
Yesterday was Crazy Hat Day at school. However, both Luke and I completely forgot come Tuesday morning. He was rather devastated when we arrived and he realized it. Being the amazing wonderful mommy that I am, I made the 2 mile round trip back home to try and find something, even though I really had no idea what I was looking for. As I hunted through the hat collection, I remembered his Cars ear hat that we got this year at Disney. Perfect!
(This photo is from March on the way home from Disney.)
As I brought it into the classroom, his entire face lit up, but the best part was yet to come. I put it on him, and as he returned to the group (they were sitting on the carpet for group time), a chorus of little voices immediately went up: "Oh wow, that is so cool!" Oh yeah, best mommy ever! LOL
Currently feeling:
the magic of Mickey ears
(This photo is from March on the way home from Disney.)
As I brought it into the classroom, his entire face lit up, but the best part was yet to come. I put it on him, and as he returned to the group (they were sitting on the carpet for group time), a chorus of little voices immediately went up: "Oh wow, that is so cool!" Oh yeah, best mommy ever! LOL
Currently feeling:
the magic of Mickey ears
Thursday, August 20, 2009
A-(house)-hunting we will go
As you may have guessed from some of the other posts made recently, we are preparing to move. Not too far. In fact, we are hoping to stay in the same county (given that there are 159 of them in Georgia, that's a pretty small geographic area). We simply cannot send Luke to the local schools. The day he started Pre-K, I decided to take a really good look at them. We knew they were not good, but in case we are unable to sell this house in the next year, I was hoping they would be tolerable at least for him to attend Kindergarten. I thought I was going to hyperventilate or throw up upon reviewing the local elementary school's stats. I believe the phrase "over my dead body" came to mind. No no no no no!
Then the great private school hunt started, which was almost just as bad. First off, who the heck has an extra $18,000 a year?! Holey moley. And most of the "affordable ones" were very much too much religious for my tastes. I chatted with a friend who used to teach at one of the most prestigious private schools in the city, and her perspective really helped a lot. She pretty much confirmed all of my worst fears about those upper-crust schools and made me feel much better (and less guilty) about deciding against them. One of the biggest stand-outs was the knowledge that Luke would have been one of the poorest children at that school. Excuse me? We are NOT poor. We're not rich, IMO, and I'm not even sure I would classify us as well-off (depends on your perspective, I suppose), but not poor by any stretch of the imagination, and the last thing I want for my son is the warped perception that we are. (Well, I don't know, after taking another $18K out of our pockets every year for private school, we might be poor!) The more I read, the more uncomfortable I got, plus the insane amounts of money, and I just couldn't bring myself around to the idea that private school was a good choice for him.
I was freaking out pretty seriously by this point. Public schools rotten plus can't afford private school; combined with the stress of L's first day of school and taking Tigger to the vet to see if she could have her tube removed, and it was pretty ugly for a few hours. But, my wonderful and amazing friends all managed to talk me down from the ledge and give me some good tips, and several put me in touch with some of their friends who might be able to answer some of my questions about the local public schools.
So now we're back to the great public school hunt. There really are some good ones once I started looking, and some of the better ones are even in our county! We do have school choice, but there is no guarantee that you will get in to the school of your choice (since everyone else likely wants into those same schools, too). The simplest solution is to move into the district we want. It is something we have been meaning to do for over a year anyway. We were just getting ready to start preparing when I had the whole mishap with changing contracts at work and lost 3 months of pay. Trying to get everything reset and resettled with that took up most of the time we had, plus in all honesty, it fell down on the priority list a bit. We got caught up in our daily routine lives and forgot to look ahead, so now we're playing catch-up a bit. Naturally, there aren't a whole lot of houses for sale in the good school districts. I'm sure part of that is our timing. School just started, so anyone hoping to move over the summer may well have taken their house back off the market, plus anyone wanting to move into the district did so over the summer and likely picked up most of the then-available houses. Result: slim pickings in August. We might do better towards the spring, but that is going to seriously stress me out if we have to wait that long to start looking at houses. So we'll look now, see what we find, and hope we find something good before the spring madness starts. I'd really like to be moved in the next 6 months, if possible.
Then there is the wholenightmare process of trying to get this house ready to sell. Ha! It really is a mess, with stuff everywhere and flooring/carpet that needs replacing and new paint needed nearly everywhere and a practically dead yard in front and back. It's going to be an uphill battle, but the sooner we start, the better off we'll be. We now have a storage room that is well on its way to being full. We hope to have things better enough, inside at least, to have a realtor come take a look after Labor Day to see what our next steps should be. We also need to start getting our financials together to pre-qualify for a new mortgage to see if we can even afford to live in those districts. The house prices that we are starting to consider "reasonable" are quite scary, and running the preliminary numbers, I'm pretty sure we'll qualify for that amount (likely more, but we don't want to be mortgaged up to our eyeballs!). I know people do this everyday, and if they can do it, then surely we can do it. I'm still marvelling at *how* they all do it and stay sane, though. Are we having fun yet?
Currently feeling:
tired of house stuff already
Then the great private school hunt started, which was almost just as bad. First off, who the heck has an extra $18,000 a year?! Holey moley. And most of the "affordable ones" were very much too much religious for my tastes. I chatted with a friend who used to teach at one of the most prestigious private schools in the city, and her perspective really helped a lot. She pretty much confirmed all of my worst fears about those upper-crust schools and made me feel much better (and less guilty) about deciding against them. One of the biggest stand-outs was the knowledge that Luke would have been one of the poorest children at that school. Excuse me? We are NOT poor. We're not rich, IMO, and I'm not even sure I would classify us as well-off (depends on your perspective, I suppose), but not poor by any stretch of the imagination, and the last thing I want for my son is the warped perception that we are. (Well, I don't know, after taking another $18K out of our pockets every year for private school, we might be poor!) The more I read, the more uncomfortable I got, plus the insane amounts of money, and I just couldn't bring myself around to the idea that private school was a good choice for him.
I was freaking out pretty seriously by this point. Public schools rotten plus can't afford private school; combined with the stress of L's first day of school and taking Tigger to the vet to see if she could have her tube removed, and it was pretty ugly for a few hours. But, my wonderful and amazing friends all managed to talk me down from the ledge and give me some good tips, and several put me in touch with some of their friends who might be able to answer some of my questions about the local public schools.
So now we're back to the great public school hunt. There really are some good ones once I started looking, and some of the better ones are even in our county! We do have school choice, but there is no guarantee that you will get in to the school of your choice (since everyone else likely wants into those same schools, too). The simplest solution is to move into the district we want. It is something we have been meaning to do for over a year anyway. We were just getting ready to start preparing when I had the whole mishap with changing contracts at work and lost 3 months of pay. Trying to get everything reset and resettled with that took up most of the time we had, plus in all honesty, it fell down on the priority list a bit. We got caught up in our daily routine lives and forgot to look ahead, so now we're playing catch-up a bit. Naturally, there aren't a whole lot of houses for sale in the good school districts. I'm sure part of that is our timing. School just started, so anyone hoping to move over the summer may well have taken their house back off the market, plus anyone wanting to move into the district did so over the summer and likely picked up most of the then-available houses. Result: slim pickings in August. We might do better towards the spring, but that is going to seriously stress me out if we have to wait that long to start looking at houses. So we'll look now, see what we find, and hope we find something good before the spring madness starts. I'd really like to be moved in the next 6 months, if possible.
Then there is the whole
Currently feeling:
tired of house stuff already
Monday, August 10, 2009
An Official Pre-K Kid!
How on earth did this happen? I have an official Pre-K kid on my hands. Everyone has asked me if it was hard on either of us today. No, not really. His daycare center offers Pre-K as well, so we just let him stay there. No sense in upsetting the routine if we don't have to. He was assigned to the Pre-K B class, and we also already know that teacher. She used to be in the Twos room back when Luke was. I didn't realize until recently that she had moved to teaching Pre-K. I'm sure it made things easier on Luke that he already knew Ms. Faye. Of course, there are pictures.
In front of the Pre-K B classroom door:
Even with Ms. Faye there, he was looking a little nervous about being in that room instead of in Ms. Crystal's class.
He took a little stroll around the room, since it had been completely redone since the last time he was in there (sometimes during the summer, if the classes were small enough, they would combine in the Pre-K room). He seemed to like what he saw.
And before I left, I had to put his name on his official first day of school nametag. He looks so grown up! I'm sure I won't think so a year from now, but it is so hard to imagine him being older than he is right now. It's just amazing.
Currently feeling:
what happened to my baby?
In front of the Pre-K B classroom door:
Even with Ms. Faye there, he was looking a little nervous about being in that room instead of in Ms. Crystal's class.
He took a little stroll around the room, since it had been completely redone since the last time he was in there (sometimes during the summer, if the classes were small enough, they would combine in the Pre-K room). He seemed to like what he saw.
And before I left, I had to put his name on his official first day of school nametag. He looks so grown up! I'm sure I won't think so a year from now, but it is so hard to imagine him being older than he is right now. It's just amazing.
Currently feeling:
what happened to my baby?
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Old friends and new beginnings
Today was a day to remember the past and look forward to the future, in more ways than one. This morning, I had the privilege of meeting Owen Griffis for the first time. Here's Owen:
Such a cutie! I see a lot of his mom Kelli in him, despite the blond curls. Kelli and I have known each other for *almost* 20 years, and she is my "oldest" friend (the one I've known the longest). We met in 1990, in high school freshman English. I'm pretty sure she was in some of my other classes (Geometry, for sure), but Ms. Frazier's class is the one I distinctly remember. I should dig up some old photos of us, but I just don't have the energy right now. (I know I have them, I even know where they are, but I'd have to dismantle 2/3 of a very large closet to get to them at the moment.) But did we ever dream then that 19 years later, we would be sitting in my living room watching our sons play together?
Maybe the thought of our children meeting crossed our minds. Maybe it didn't. I honestly don't recall. (Kelli, care to comment? LOL) Watching it actually happen was both strange and not. I thought it would be weird to see my friends with their kids, but it's not, perhaps because I have one of my own, so it isn't so hard for me to imagine. Most of my friends don't have kids yet, and the few who do, I haven't gotten to meet them yet. So this was really my first experience with it. Kelli being a mom was not strange at all.
But watching small males wearing *our* faces play together? Totally weird! It just blew my mind. To see these two little pieces of ourselves having a grand old time was amazing. I know they didn't get to stay long, as they were only here for a few days and there were lots of people for them to see, but I am so grateful that they were able to fit in some time with us. And I am so sorry that they will likely be moving to Scotland before I get to see them again. I thought California was hard to get to; that will be much worse. Perhaps one day, we shall all meet again. In the meantime, I have these pictures and some amazing memories to hold me over.
But it doesn't end there. Later in the evening, I had another mind-blowing experience: Pre-K Orientation! It is so hard to believe it is time for that already, but here it is, only 25 days away. Most of the information we did not need. It was primarily to review the rules of the center itself and of the Pre-K program. A few tidbits were new, but most were not, the advantage of Luke having been at the center in daycare for nearly 3 years now (wow, can't believe that!). Only one more year, and I'll have an official grade-schooler on my hands. The future's so bright, I've gotta wear shades!
Currently feeling:
amazed
Such a cutie! I see a lot of his mom Kelli in him, despite the blond curls. Kelli and I have known each other for *almost* 20 years, and she is my "oldest" friend (the one I've known the longest). We met in 1990, in high school freshman English. I'm pretty sure she was in some of my other classes (Geometry, for sure), but Ms. Frazier's class is the one I distinctly remember. I should dig up some old photos of us, but I just don't have the energy right now. (I know I have them, I even know where they are, but I'd have to dismantle 2/3 of a very large closet to get to them at the moment.) But did we ever dream then that 19 years later, we would be sitting in my living room watching our sons play together?
Maybe the thought of our children meeting crossed our minds. Maybe it didn't. I honestly don't recall. (Kelli, care to comment? LOL) Watching it actually happen was both strange and not. I thought it would be weird to see my friends with their kids, but it's not, perhaps because I have one of my own, so it isn't so hard for me to imagine. Most of my friends don't have kids yet, and the few who do, I haven't gotten to meet them yet. So this was really my first experience with it. Kelli being a mom was not strange at all.
But watching small males wearing *our* faces play together? Totally weird! It just blew my mind. To see these two little pieces of ourselves having a grand old time was amazing. I know they didn't get to stay long, as they were only here for a few days and there were lots of people for them to see, but I am so grateful that they were able to fit in some time with us. And I am so sorry that they will likely be moving to Scotland before I get to see them again. I thought California was hard to get to; that will be much worse. Perhaps one day, we shall all meet again. In the meantime, I have these pictures and some amazing memories to hold me over.
But it doesn't end there. Later in the evening, I had another mind-blowing experience: Pre-K Orientation! It is so hard to believe it is time for that already, but here it is, only 25 days away. Most of the information we did not need. It was primarily to review the rules of the center itself and of the Pre-K program. A few tidbits were new, but most were not, the advantage of Luke having been at the center in daycare for nearly 3 years now (wow, can't believe that!). Only one more year, and I'll have an official grade-schooler on my hands. The future's so bright, I've gotta wear shades!
Currently feeling:
amazed
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