School Assessment
Greetings to everyone.
The MOPS group Rebecca belongs to hosted a school open house last week. Representatives from many schools around the city attended to provide information about their programs and answer questions. Both private and public school programs had representation.
It was something of an education, to put it mildly. The state of education today, the costs (even, surprisingly to us, public schools) and the curriculum leave one a little flabbergasted. It gave both Rebecca and I much to discuss and consider. One thing we did see was how well-centralized our home is in relation to so many schools.
Rebecca put out some feelers to a few of the preschools after we discussed them. None were taking students; the year had already begun and most have waiting lists. Less than a week after, Rebecca gets an email from one of the schools we considered an appropriate choice. The email explained it was opening up a new class, one day a week for four hours. It asked if we were interested.
Rebecca emailed back and set up a time to tour the school. That is what we did this morning, along with two other families. We were very impressed by the facility, the staff and the classes. Xavier (who would be entering the one-year olds class, which is called "the Bumblebees") seemed impressed as well. His attention was held by the lesson being taught to an older class as we passed them in the hallway.
One of the items which impressed us was the kinesthetic emphasis the school has adopted, especially since Xavier bends strongly that way. The school is a Christian-based school, and well-established, having been around for more than twenty years. The staff are fully certified to teach within the Jefferson County School System and have basic medical and first aid training. And, the tuition is cheap. Surprisingly cheap! As he advances to higher-level classes (the school goes through kindergarten, about age five) and the number of days per week to attend increase, it costs only a few thousand dollars for the school year at the high end of the scale.
We went to lunch and discussed the school, then returned home and signed up. We had to race, as there are only eight openings, and one of the other families also wanted to enroll a one-year old. Actually, no race. Plenty of time; but we did want to pull the trigger before word got out about the availability of the class. Xavier will start school either next week or the week following (the start schedule is still unsettled as the class is just kicking off).
The Little Professor Picks a Pumpkin
Greetings to everyone.
Last Friday, Rebecca used one of her new-found super powers as a member of a local MOPS group to score us a date night. The MOPS group does babysitting from 6 to 9 one Friday a month. We took Xavier in for the evening (we were not the only ones dropping off children either! Others were making use of this same super power). He enjoys playing in the toddler room when Rebecca makes the biweekly meetings, and he gets to interact with other children his age, which he enjoys. (He does a lot of toddler-watching)
Rebecca and I took in an quiet evening at a local restaurant we have been wanting to try these last few months. After dinner, we decided to spend our last ninety minutes choosing a pumpkin from the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield.
It was dark, about 7:30 at night, and the air held a crisp autumn chill. As this was a spur of the moment activity, neither of us were prepared to be in the weather, but off we drove just the same (fortunately, I pack emergency clothing in the trunk of my car).
It took us longer to get there than we thought, and the pumpkin area was closed. We decided to return Saturday with Xavier and do the corn maze also. So, Saturday, we packed Xavier and headed south. From the highway, we noted the place was a zoo and the line to get in stretched several hundred feet. We bailed and found some place to eat lunch. Once home again, we researched pumpkin patches, but found none near us, except the Chatfield one.
Both Xavier and Rebecca suffered a cold, so we did not try on Sunday. Today, Rebecca packed Xavier up and both went to see a doctor; neither could breathe well. We were having concerns about pneumonia. Along the way, Rebecca passed a street corner having a few thousand pumpkins on the ground. So, this afternoon, after his nap, we headed over to pick out a pumpkin.
The pumpkin patch (actually a large, straw-covered area of grass where the pumpkins are trucked in) is operated and benefits Habitat for Humanity. They have provided this "patch" for the past fifteen years, located at Garrison and Alameda on the grounds of Colorado Christian University. The selection is extensive and quite varied. The people are friendly, and the cause is worth the dollar per inch in circumference.
When we arrived, one of the workers, an older gentleman, walked over to greet us and to give Xavier a little sticker. Xavier used his sticker to mark the pumpkin he favored the most. Above, he examines several from a pile of Xavier-sized pumpkins. You can see his sticker already affixed to the pumpkin directly in front of the space between the two he holds on to.
Here, he examines another one. He's gone back to it several times, and even pulled his sticker from the previous choice and placed it on this pumpkin.
Looking over to the workers in the tent, Xavier announces his choice. "This one! Do I get a discount? I'm under 2."
Xavier's New Throne
Hello to everyone.
Rebecca has had an itch for a while. This past weekend, she scratched it. She bought Xavier a potty chair. He has been very interested in the bathroom lately, especially when someone is making use of the toilet. He's gotten strong enough to lift the lid, but still does not have the leverage to pull the flush handle, though he tries.
He is not ready for training yet, so we have it out in his play room next to the throne his grandma bought him for his birthday. We figure he will get used to it by using it as a toy. He really likes playing with the potty. He either stands in it (which both Rebecca and I see him doing in the future after using the potty properly), or he crams some of his favored stuffed animals into it. Playing with it occupies him sometimes for twenty or more minutes.
Here, Xavier poses with his potty. See how happy it has made him?