New school!

Back in November or December, when Bennett was still just 8 or 9 months old, I had been chatting with a friend of a friend who lives nearby about where she sends her toddler to daycare/school. She said that they use a preschool called Four Seasons Community School that they adore. She said that they utilize Reggio-Emilia and Tools of the Mind methods and were similar in style to a Montessori program. Having attended a Montessori preschool myself with wonderful memories of it and having done a big project in college on the Montessori Method, I've always been interested in having Bennett attend a Montessori program. There's a great Montessori school very close to our old house that several friends of ours have used, but their rates are incredibly high, more than double our mortgage on the old house and still more than our current mortgage in the new house! While Bennett's education and intellectual well-being is extremely important to us and obviously a huge priority, we just couldn't justify spending that kind of money when he was so little and just starting out with childcare. That led us to Norma, the in-home provider half a mile away from our new house. We really do love her and she is a sweetheart and takes great care of "her babies" and for the most part we were really happy with her for the year that Bennett was there. But when I started looking into Four Seasons Community School, I called them and learned that they were hoping to open an infant room sometime around June. They originally just served children 18 months and older in one small school in a house that was converted to a school, then later added a second school also in a house in Round Rock. As they grew and the parents of their students started having more babies, they decided that they needed the infant room and their plan was to purchase a third house for this, but they ended up getting one much larger building about six minutes away from our new house that used to house a corporate chain daycare. They moved both smaller schools into this building and did a lot of sprucing up and renovations (and are still working on some things) and opened the infant room at the end of May. We decided to jump at the chance to enroll Bennett there while they had some spots in the infant room, knowing that this way he will be able to move up into their "Pre-Primary" and "Primary" classes and be guaranteed a spot there until Kindergarten. If we had waited to move him there a bit later when he'd be in one of the two older classes (either at 18 months or 3 years), we'd probably end up on a waiting list and not necessarily get a spot. I agonized about leaving Norma and must have rehearsed the "break-up" conversation with her in my head a hundred times, but in the end I knew that this was a great opportunity for our family and the right decision. I have always felt that if I cannot be home with Bennett full-time, I want him to spend his days learning and having a full, enriching day. While I felt that he was happy and safe at Norma's and well-loved, I didn't feel that he was getting that enrichment there. She would often have cartoons on in the mornings in the daycare room (her converted garage, which is a good space for it), or she'd have the news on at pick-up on days when something particularly crazy and disturbing was going on (the Sandy Hook school shooting, Boston Marathon bombings, etc--not something that the kids should be hearing about.) The kids read books there, but they are not easily accessible throughout the day and she doesn't do many (or any?) organized, structured educational activities throughout the day. She talks to the babies a lot, but probably not nearly as much as we try to do at home and she doesn't sign with them, which I have always been big on. She makes a homemade, healthy lunch every day that Bennett always loved (things like soups and stews, baked chicken, etc.) and serves lots of fruits and veggies but would also serve some snacks that we're not big on him having on a regular basis like Goldfish crackers. So while I think her home was a great place for Bennett for his first year when having him close by, safe, and well-cared for was the priority and there were only minor things that we weren't 100% happy with, now that he is a busy and curious toddler with a natural love for exploring and learning, this new school is the perfect place for him and we are so excited about it. The owner/director has a really solid education and background in education and from what I can tell she has done an amazing job with the school in the few short years they have been open and they have gotten to the wonderful point they are at now very quickly. They really just reinforce what we are trying to do with him at home as well as introduce many new things and new experiences--things like Spanish classes, dance classes, working in an outdoor garden, learning about being eco-friendly, riding tricycles, meetup field trips...too many to list! We have talked about the fact that we would definitely consider starting a second baby out with Norma for the first year or so if the timing worked out right for that, since overall we were happy with her care of the young infants and her rate is so amazing and so close by. BUT, if the timing worked out so that there was a spot in the infant room at Four Seasons that we would need to take to avoid being waitlisted, we'd probably end up going that route to have both kiddos in one spot. We'll cross that bridge if/when we get to it, I suppose!

Bennett started there the Tuesday after Memorial Day, so today is his 11th day and already we are SO happy with how it's going. Because the infant room is so new, he is one of just two babies at the moment! The other is a three month old boy who has an older sister at the school. There are several other moms who are expecting and will enroll their babies there within the next few months and I think there are a few open spots still and a few families have been touring the infant room. In total they will eventually have 8 infants and two teachers in the room and they are trying to keep it to a good mix of four younger infants and four older who are between 12 months and 18 months, with one teacher kind of focusing on the younger group and one on the older group but all in the same classroom. Bennett's teacher, Miss Katie, is a total sweetheart and she has some great experience with babysitting, being a nanny, working at a corporate daycare in the infant room, and having younger children in her family. She also has a degree from UT and the school only hires teachers with degrees, which is not terribly common for many childcare centers. I would imagine that this helps keep the turnover rate low, and it seems that Miss Katie and the other teachers are very happy there. Miss Katie signs with Bennett as much as a I do and also throws some Spanish in, and right now with just the two babies she is able to give him a ton of one on one interaction. Somehow she has gotten Bennett to take many LONG, wonderful naps in his crib, sometimes even two a day. I'm talking two and three hour naps. She must be a baby nap whisperer and makes me feel like a total failure at the nap thing since obviously Bennett is capable and in need of naps like this but doesn't do it at home. (But in reality, I think that she just gets him calm, puts him in his crib, and stays nearby while telling him to lie down until he falls asleep, which is what I do too. ???) One thing that is new to us that I adore is that throughout the day she keeps track of his eating, sleeping, and diapering schedule on a tablet using a Google document that I can view whenever I want. I love checking it to see what and how much he is eating, when and how long he is napping, and how many times a day he is pooping : ) With Norma, I would always ask her about his day at pick up but I usually got very vague answers. Like this:

Me: "Did he nap well today?"
Norma: "Yes" (said with a smile)

Norma: "He poops a lot!"

Norma: "He eats like a farmer!" (a lot)

So I was always guessing as to when/what he ate, his nap routine, etc. With 12 kids under 5, I know that she has a lot going on and is juggling lots of schedules, but I was always hungry to know more about his day, and now I have that info literally at my fingertips. Miss Katie's really good about updating it as things happen, too, and I can even watch on my screen as she is typing in the info. It's awesome. This way also I feel like I am not pestering Miss Katie with questions when I pick Bennett up. She's very willing to chat about his day but I know that when they do have a full room she won't have as much time to discuss everything as much as we do now. They also have a private blog that the teachers post on to let the parents get a glimpse of what the children are learning and doing throughout the day. Here are some photos I stole from their blog:

getting lots of rest after all the learning and playing!

painting

Another new thing with the change in schools is that we send his lunch, whereas Norma provided everything. I was kind of nervous about this at first but I think I'm doing okay with it. I've looked on Pinterest and blogs for inspiration for "toddler meals" and I just try to send a fairly well-balanced assortment of things from our fridge and pantry that I think he will eat. I try to do one source of protein/meat which is usually in the form of leftovers or cooked chicken that Michael always has around for his Paleo eating, a few types of fruit, at least one type of veggie or mixed veggies, and sometimes some grains, cheese, muffin, or other snacky items. The school does provide snacks but so far I think some of the things they serve to the older children might still be a little bit over Bennett's head, like cashews or granola, so I just send plenty of food and he has been snacking on what I put in his lunch, and I think that he's eating pretty well. It's still a bit of a guessing game as to what and how much he will eat and sometimes he'll refuse things that I know he has loved in the past, but I'm not too worried about his weight or anything and I know that if he's hungry, he'll eat. The school provides organic whole milk and water, which is all he drinks at home, too, and they do healthy, well-balanced snacks as well. They are also very eco-friendly and use practices like composting and providing a cloth towel in the bathroom for each child rather than paper towels and they use "green" products, which I am all about as much as possible.

Bennett has cried every day at drop off, and a few times he's even done the open mouth, closed eyes silent cry, which breaks my heart, but I know that he settles down pretty quickly after I leave and is having a great time. Heck, he even cries when I leave him with his Dad at home and go into the next room, so I know that it's no indication of any kind of unhappiness there and is more about the newness of it and the extreme clinginess to Mommy that he has going on currently. Also, I think that part of it may be that it is just so quiet in the room with no other kids his age there as a distraction when I leave. I am sure that given another week or two to settle in and as they get more babies the drop-offs won't be so bad. Bennett's been doing art projects most days and both Fridays so far we have brought home two adorable works of art. I'll have to find a place to display everything and devise a storage system for saving it all!

It's probably a little tricky for Miss Katie with Bennett being so much older than the other baby (who seems so tiny compared to Bennett!), but it seems like throughout the day they try to get out of the classroom a bit and they go and watch the older kids (or "friends", as they call them there-love that) in the science or art areas, and they do go outside once or twice a day. They have one of those enormous stroller carts that seats a bunch of babies but obviously right now that's not practical to use with one 14 month old and one 3 month old so Miss Katie just carries the little guy and lets Bennett toddle around. They will eventually add on a little patio right off the infant room just for that class but this is still in progess, so for now they go out back where all of the other children play. I have been told that Bennett often goes up to either the door leading out of the classroom or the door adjoining to the next classroom of 1.5-3 year olds and he will bang on it, indicating that he wants to go visit the older friends or go explore the school. Since there are only two babies right now, Miss Katie says that sometimes she obliges but when she tells Bennett no, that it's not time to leave the room, he's not too happy about that! He's also already spent some time with Miss Sara, who will be his teacher when he moves into the Pre-Primary room in the fall, and she seems great as well. She has told me that he is very charming, so I like her! She has also said that he does great with the older friends in her room and is "very confident" in his interactions with them. : )

The infant classroom itself is awesome. It's spacious and brightly lit with a sink area and some cabinetry, a little alcove that's gated off for a fridge, brand new top of the line cribs and gear, and lots of colorful, adorable Ikea stuff and toys and books for the full age range of infants. All of the toys and books are brand new and are stored in the Montessori way at the child's level and neatly organized so that they are able to choose their activities and help clean up and what not. At Norma's, most of the toys were stored on high shelves near the ceiling or in a spare pack and play and she would just get some out and rotate them but the kids don't have direct access to help themselves, so I am sure that Bennett enjoys the newfound ability to access whatever he wants. In fact, usually when I pick him up he has many things out. : ) Miss Katie requested a picture of our family and a picture of Bennett to display in the room, so it's great that he gets to have things like that around the room to make him feel comfortable.

One thing that will be a little trickier is that since it is an actual preschool with a curriculum rather than just a daycare, they have some staff development days throughout the year and some other closures that are in line with public schools, like a week during the summer, two weeks for Christmas, etc., so this will mean taking a little more time off from work on those days but it is manageable and I am sure that I won't mind having the excuse to get to spend a little extra time with Bennett here and there. I've also considered seeing if Norma can watch him on a drop in basis on days that FSCS is closed and she is open if she has a spot, and she said that she could do that, so we'll see. They are closed the first week of July, but we will be going to NY on the 3rd anyway so that works out okay, and my parents will be here for the holidays again and can help those days.

We are so excited for this new component of our lives and to see how it all goes and all of the amazing things that Bennett will do and learn at school!Already I find myself more relaxed and content with dropping him off and not so antsy to get him at the end of the day, since I know that he is loving it and getting so much out of it. I feel like I can get more out of my work day, too, and be more efficient myself knowing that his time at school is well-spent and that he is in such a great place.