The Kitchen Cart

Ian's school teaches children to be independent, and in order to maximize what he takes away from the next few years at school, I am trying to reinforce everything that happens at school at home. So....I bought, and then stocked, our new "kitchen cart." At first I stocked plastic plates and cups, but to properly reinforce what is going on at school I switched to glass. (We don't drink out of mugs, so I don't really mind if they break....I've broken a couple myself.) Now, the boys have everything they need right at their fingertips, and they LOVE getting it for themselves. The shelf is only 33 inches tall and fits right under our bar (supported by a glass block wall which was in style 30 years ago.) They also now have their own water jug in the fridge for preparing their own drinks.

Shelf 1: Plates and glasses

Shelf 2: Utensils and straws

Shelf 3: Cloth napkins and napkin rings

Shelf 4: Pre-portioned food and water for the dog (It's a chore now!!!)

Separate trays for the different utensils. I bought them some new little spoons and spreaders yesterday that are currently awaiting dishwasher sanitation.

I had NO idea how much the boys would adore being able to access all of these things for themselves. Yesterday Cole tried to give Ian a napkin off of the cart, and Ian flipped because he "was going to GET IT!" It definitely takes some time to supervise the use of the cart's contents, but they have proven themselves very quickly and are doing a smashing job! Figuratively speaking, of course. ;)

Stargazing

Ian's obsession with space keeps growing. I, of course, adore this, and I love that he loves space because it's a passion he can keep for his entire life. Just think about how much our knowledge of the universe changes and grows year after year. Yesterday the boys took tremendous naps so we let them stay up a little later and went outside to find some new constellations. Last night our main focus was to find Draco. Eli was not feeling it for whatever reason. Ian totally loved it and can't wait to go back out tonight. That probably won't happen since he will need to be in bed earlier tonight, but don't worry, he'll survive.

We don't own a telescope (yet) so binoculars have to do.

He's spotted something

Little Astronomers

Welcome Back Weenie Roast

On August 30th Ian's school hosted a "Welcome Back" weenie roast. I guess the boys had never heard of a weenie roast, because they kept making me say "weenie roast" over and over and over again and then laughing hysterically.

The party started with a walk through the woods for all of the kids and their families led by the school director. I had never walked through a planned forest before so it was a bit of an experience for me, too.

Ian was certain this was bamboo.

Nearing the end of the trail. Ready to eat.

We, ahem, brought up the rear.....as you can see.

Preparing a hot dog for everyone in the family.

We had a great time. It was so nice to have a fun evening out that also involved something new for the boys. They also roasted marshmallows. For me, the most memorable moment of the evening was when Eli looked the school director right in the eye and asked, "What? Are you NUTS?!" I thought I was going to die, and yet, here I am typing the memory.

Through the Eyes of a Child

This morning Ian and I had the funniest little conversation. Enjoy!

Ian: When my dad took me to Wal-Mart, he got some change and gave it to me. Then we put the change in a boot.

Me: A boot?

Ian: Yeah, a boot.

Me: (light bulb: firemen raising money for MDA) OOOOHHH, you gave it to a fireman.

Ian: No, it wasn't a fireman, it was just a guy.

Me: I think it was a fireman raising money.

Ian: No, it was just a guy selling stickers.

This absolutely cracked me up! You drop your donation in the boot, and then the fireman gives you a sticker for your child. Of course this looked totally different to a four-year-old. Oh, Ian boy. You make things so much fun!

The Busy Bakers

Ian's school asks children learn to prepare and pack their own lunches, even at three or four years old. It builds confidence, it makes the children feel important and empowered; it's just a great life skill to learn. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week, I prepared Ian's lunch. We're still new at the school routine so it's taking some time to figure things out.

But today....today I called Ian into the kitchen and helped him to make his own lunch. This about tripled the time required to pack the lunch, but I want to make sure that we are doing everything at home that we can to reinforce what he is learning at school. I'm not going to pay full tuition for half the education because we aren't following up at home. He stood on a chair and I directed him with spreading hummus onto a tortilla. Some bites are going to be pretty "hummus heavy" while others are going to be quite, ahem, dry, but, hey, he did it himself. Then he rolled it up and sliced it in half to fit in the container. I had to help him cut a little because he couldn't put enough pressure on the knife. He then cut his stick of string cheese in half to fit into another small container. To finish it off, I supervised while he added an appropriate, key word here, amount of grapes and orange wedges to the container. All in all a nice nutritious meal prepared, practically single-handedly, by our freshly turned four-year-old. I was very proud, and Ian was beaming with pride.

He then showed me how they taught him at school to hang one strap of his tote bag on a hook, while the other flops forward, and then slide your lunch in the bag. He was quite proud.

Since Ian got to pack his own lunch, Eli had to pack his own lunch too.

Keeping On Task

I recently saw an idea for a "job chart" online. I think I saw it on I Heart Organizing, but I can't remember. Eek!!! Anyway, this was not my original idea, and I would give credit where credit is due, but I honestly can't remember where I saw this. Sorry to whoever did this first!

I created envelopes for each of Ian's morning responsibilities and stuck them at his eye level on the fridge with painter's tape. The tasks go in order from left to right, and he knows to do them in sequence. Once a task is complete, he moves the green card to the front to show that task has been completed. We are still new to the morning school routine, so a LOT of redirection is needed to keep him focused on getting things done, but I'm hopeful that this will really help. He enjoys getting to put the green card in the front and check things off his to-do list.

I used stickers to spell out the task, and then I drew a very rough sketch of the task since he can't read yet. After being asked a zillion times why everything looked so bizarre (I. Can. Not. Draw.), Ian was totally on board with his little task pockets. Now instead of saying "Get dressed" a thousand times, I tell him, "Check your cards" a hundred times. It's the same amount of talking on my part, but he does seem more engaged with this method since there is something to look at. I'm just trying to remember that after four years of daily freedom, this is an adjustment period for both of us. So far, I'm liking it.

Rug Etiquette

School is in full swing, and Ian is loving it!!! It's incredibly difficult to get ANY information out of him which is really frustrating. But, I did eventually find out that Tuesday he learned about the classroom rugs.

I'm sure that sounds weird. Allow me to explain. At his school the kids don't work at desks. Part of the  Montessori method is embracing the fact that small children learn best while in motion. Their young bodies truly need movement in order to learn. So instead of sitting at a desk while working on a lesson, children have rugs they lay on the floor and that is their work space. Personally, I adore this! Can you picture your child just sitting in one place while they played with their toys? No way! They need to move around, so why expect them to be any different when learning?

The rug is sacred space in the class room. No one is allowed to walk on or across someone else's rug. No one is allowed to touch any of the materials on the rug unless invited by the rug's "occupant." The rugs are stored rolled up in a basket. In order to use a rug, the children carry it under their arms to where they want to work, unroll in, and then roll it up again and carry it under their arms back to the basket when they are done.

I had Ian give us a lesson on rugs, after I finally realized he'd learned about the rugs. He even invited Eli and I to join him on his "rug."

A little lesson in rugs before school this morning.