Monday, September 29, 2008
Claire's latest words
"I try?" with a very innocent look on her face, reaching for something she's definitely not supposed to try.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Playdate
today, Skye's friend came over for a playdate. the girls rode the bus home together from school and then Claire and i picked them up. while we were waiting for the bus, my neighbour and her three year old daughter came out to hang out with Claire and me and they ended up joining us for the playdate. while we were getting things going, another neighbour stopped by with her two year old daughter, wondering if she could leave her daughter with me while she took her son who was screaming to urgent care (nothing too serious - an ear infection but he was refusing to take the medicine at home so the mother was taking him to get the kind of medicine he would take). so, we had a rather full and bustling house. but there's something about kids playing all together - they were all happy and content, i even managed to get dinner made!
Open house at Skye's school
last night, after dinner, we went to Skye's school for open house. we knew it was open house for the whole school (K-2), but i had no idea what craziness open house was until we got there. there were SO many excited, hyper kids, running around, dragging bewildered parents and siblings all over the school. once, they made an announcement: "there is a little girl, who looks about 2 years old, called Abby, looking for her parents. please come to the office if you are her parents."
it was great for Skye to be able to show us where she spends most of her day now. she was so excited to show us all the different rooms too - the music room, the art room, the specials room and the gym. as well as her classroom. it was encouraging for Phil and me to see her feeling so at home and so happy with school. she was never this excited about preschool, but with kindergarten, Skye seems to have a sense of ownership about the place which she never had at preschool.
seeing all the excitement, Phil is now convinced public schools are the way to go. it's so great to run into our neighbours and people we see at the pool. there's just a feeling of community which we really appreciate.
one of my neighbours and i had a lengthy discussion about schools a couple of weeks ago. she has a daughter that is in 2nd Grade who is reading at the level of 5th Grade. she was voicing concern about whether her daughter was going to learn anything in 2nd Grade, whether she was going to be encouraged to progress, or will she be required to remain at the level of her peers. that's a tough one. i think about that often too because Skye is reading and writing already. actually, since she started kindergarten, her reading and writing have improved drastically. so, at this point, i'm not too concerned. and if the teacher is good, surely she will encourage progress for all her students, no matter what level they are at. my neighbour seems to find public schools, esp in Madison, a little too bent on democratization - meaning, they want to equalize all the children, keep them all at the same level. we have no magnet schools, no schools to pool the "smart and advanced" kids.
but last night, seeing how excited all the kids were about their school, i had to say to myself, this must be good.
it was great for Skye to be able to show us where she spends most of her day now. she was so excited to show us all the different rooms too - the music room, the art room, the specials room and the gym. as well as her classroom. it was encouraging for Phil and me to see her feeling so at home and so happy with school. she was never this excited about preschool, but with kindergarten, Skye seems to have a sense of ownership about the place which she never had at preschool.
seeing all the excitement, Phil is now convinced public schools are the way to go. it's so great to run into our neighbours and people we see at the pool. there's just a feeling of community which we really appreciate.
one of my neighbours and i had a lengthy discussion about schools a couple of weeks ago. she has a daughter that is in 2nd Grade who is reading at the level of 5th Grade. she was voicing concern about whether her daughter was going to learn anything in 2nd Grade, whether she was going to be encouraged to progress, or will she be required to remain at the level of her peers. that's a tough one. i think about that often too because Skye is reading and writing already. actually, since she started kindergarten, her reading and writing have improved drastically. so, at this point, i'm not too concerned. and if the teacher is good, surely she will encourage progress for all her students, no matter what level they are at. my neighbour seems to find public schools, esp in Madison, a little too bent on democratization - meaning, they want to equalize all the children, keep them all at the same level. we have no magnet schools, no schools to pool the "smart and advanced" kids.
but last night, seeing how excited all the kids were about their school, i had to say to myself, this must be good.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Canning season & Formula trouble in China
we are in full canning mode. we went to Door Creek Orchard over the weekend and picked lots of apples (Greening, Jonamac, Cortland) which will be made into applesauce, apple butter. we also picked grapes to make into grape jelly. there is something satisfying about seeing all those cans lined up after you're finished, but right now, i'm just thinking about all the canning i need to do!
on another front, all this formula trouble in China makes me think more of us need to be encouraging women to breastfeed. Breast milk is best!
on another front, all this formula trouble in China makes me think more of us need to be encouraging women to breastfeed. Breast milk is best!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Pajama day
today, Claire wore her PJs all day. this morning, she pulled out her kitty PJs and decided that was what she would wear today. i was just thankful they weren't fleece pjs. when we went to the bus stop to pick up Skye in the afternoon, all the adults were like, oh, did Claire just wake up from her nap? uh, yes, but she's been wearing this all day.
i've seen other kids do this, but Skye never did it, so i keep wondering if tomorrow, Claire will once again pick some pjs to wear or if she'll have moved on. we'll see!
i've seen other kids do this, but Skye never did it, so i keep wondering if tomorrow, Claire will once again pick some pjs to wear or if she'll have moved on. we'll see!
Playdough Recipe
today, i made a new batch of playdough with the girls. our old batch was getting a little icky... i've used a couple of different recipes, but they all seem about the same. i like this one - i think the alum gives it a better texture that cream of tartar.
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup salt
1 cup flour
1 tbsp alum
1 tbsp vegetable oil
food colouring
add salt to boiling water. in a medium bowl, mix next 3 ingredients together, then add salted water. when the dough is cool enough to handle comfortably, knead until smooth, adding more flour if necessary. divide the dough and knead in food colouring. store in airtight containers.
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup salt
1 cup flour
1 tbsp alum
1 tbsp vegetable oil
food colouring
add salt to boiling water. in a medium bowl, mix next 3 ingredients together, then add salted water. when the dough is cool enough to handle comfortably, knead until smooth, adding more flour if necessary. divide the dough and knead in food colouring. store in airtight containers.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
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