It occurred to me last week that I want to teach Kat how to cook and clean. I also want to teach these things to Drew but he still has some time before we need to think about that.
I asked on Facebook for my friends experiences, when did they start to allow their children to work on the stove? One gal did at 3, another not yet at 7. It all came down to knowing if my little girl was ready or not. Happily, I think she is.
So yesterday I allowed her to cook dinner from start to finish. We had tacos. She had to put the cheese in a bowl, she had to chop lettuce with a sharp knife, she had to brown ground beef and add water and seasoning. She had to stir carefully, she had to watch out for her hands on the hot stove, she had to put everything on the table.
They were the best. tacos. ever.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Falling hard.
I am delighted to report that Kat is the worst one in her class at ice skating. She is terrible at it! The other children literally skate circles around her but she loves every minute of it. She begs me to sign her up for the next session. Her brother wants to skate as well.
I think it is wonderful because she has always been one of those people that things come easily for. We got her a piano, she started playing. We gave her books, she taught herself to read. We take her to the park, she comes home with new friends. So now she is learning how to do something poorly but with grace.
I am always so proud when I see her on the ice. She falls, she stumbles, she doesn't glide but she is smiling the entire time. It's gorgeous!
I think it is wonderful because she has always been one of those people that things come easily for. We got her a piano, she started playing. We gave her books, she taught herself to read. We take her to the park, she comes home with new friends. So now she is learning how to do something poorly but with grace.
I am always so proud when I see her on the ice. She falls, she stumbles, she doesn't glide but she is smiling the entire time. It's gorgeous!
Friday, October 8, 2010
Sad news, bad news.
When Kat was a baby, I worked full-time. She used to go to daycare for two full and two partial days each week. Before she was born I went to every daycare in town. I toured, I listened, I interviewed, I watched. The ones I looked at were all basically the same. Two women in a brightly colored room filled with toys and babies. A minimum of chaos at each one.
We ended up picking the one that had a moderate price and was central to home and work. Kat was there for 15 months. It worked well for us, we liked her teachers, she was always happy when we picked her up or popped in unexpectedly to check in on her. She got bit twice but that is bound to happen when you get teething toddlers in the same space.
We dis-enrolled her when we found a small, home daycare run by a housewife. She pretty much only took care of Kat (and later on Drew) each day. I liked that they were in a home setting, that the activities included folding clothes and making dinner. It was natural and normal.
Later on Kat went to Montessori school and the grandparents started taking care of Drew while I was at work.
Then the other day I opened up the local newspaper and saw Kat's first daycare provider there. She'd been convicted that day of second degree murder and child abuse. This woman was "slow" but patient and kind. She loved the children in Kat's room, she did her job well. But, she found herself pregnant and unwed and couldn't bring herself to shame her old world parents with her pregnancy. The baby was born in her bedroom and she smothered her within minutes of her birth.
She's currently in jail awaiting her sentencing which may go up to life in prison. Such a sad thing, such a waste of two lives. If only this woman had reached out to anyone at work, they would have helped her.
This is a tragedy.
We ended up picking the one that had a moderate price and was central to home and work. Kat was there for 15 months. It worked well for us, we liked her teachers, she was always happy when we picked her up or popped in unexpectedly to check in on her. She got bit twice but that is bound to happen when you get teething toddlers in the same space.
We dis-enrolled her when we found a small, home daycare run by a housewife. She pretty much only took care of Kat (and later on Drew) each day. I liked that they were in a home setting, that the activities included folding clothes and making dinner. It was natural and normal.
Later on Kat went to Montessori school and the grandparents started taking care of Drew while I was at work.
Then the other day I opened up the local newspaper and saw Kat's first daycare provider there. She'd been convicted that day of second degree murder and child abuse. This woman was "slow" but patient and kind. She loved the children in Kat's room, she did her job well. But, she found herself pregnant and unwed and couldn't bring herself to shame her old world parents with her pregnancy. The baby was born in her bedroom and she smothered her within minutes of her birth.
She's currently in jail awaiting her sentencing which may go up to life in prison. Such a sad thing, such a waste of two lives. If only this woman had reached out to anyone at work, they would have helped her.
This is a tragedy.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Train wreck.
Yesterday, Peter and I met with Kat's public school kindergarten teacher. From the moment we got there this woman stonewalled us. She had nothing to say about Kat, nice or otherwise. She treated us like overbearing, obsessive parents.
It. was. horrible.
We all sat down at a tiny table in tiny chairs and the teacher asked us why we were there. I said we just wanted to check in with her to see how Kat was doing in school. She gave us a short answer that was basically saying "fine." I told her that Kat had been grumbling about the schoolwork and we wanted to touch base with her to make sure we were doing the right things for her. She then told us that kindergarten is kindergarten is kindergarten. There will be no deviation from her lesson plans. She really wanted to convince us that the lessons plans were set in stone, sent down from above and that was ALL she was allowed to teach. Not good.
So we asked what we can do to make sure that Kat will have a positive kindergarten experience. She told us to read to her. Then she asked what we were doing to make sure that Kat was learning.
She gave us a chance to talk about Kat, which I saw as placating us. Let's give the crazy parents a moment to wax poetic about their darling offspring so they'll leave happy.
She did say that we need to nominate our daughterfor the gifted program and that she does belong there. She told us all of the wonderful things that go on in that program but the gist is she is not going to do a thing outside of her lesson plans so we need to wait until next year.
She also implied that maybe we are pressuring Kat too much which made me angry since I truly believe we are following her lead. She said she thought we were a bit hasty in coming to see her since it was only the 4th week of school.
It sounds like Kat is going to have to wait a year because this teacher is set in her ways.
On the bright side, we did manage to convey all of our points. We know Kat is one of many, we know she (the teacher) is busy, Kat deserves to learn each day, we want to help, we want to be a part of making Kat's school experience positive, we want to do all we can for her. She asked us where Kat was in reading and I was able to tell her in the Fountas and Pinnel-speak that our school system uses.
DH says that now we just wait until conferences in November and see what happens between now and then.
It. was. horrible.
We all sat down at a tiny table in tiny chairs and the teacher asked us why we were there. I said we just wanted to check in with her to see how Kat was doing in school. She gave us a short answer that was basically saying "fine." I told her that Kat had been grumbling about the schoolwork and we wanted to touch base with her to make sure we were doing the right things for her. She then told us that kindergarten is kindergarten is kindergarten. There will be no deviation from her lesson plans. She really wanted to convince us that the lessons plans were set in stone, sent down from above and that was ALL she was allowed to teach. Not good.
So we asked what we can do to make sure that Kat will have a positive kindergarten experience. She told us to read to her. Then she asked what we were doing to make sure that Kat was learning.
She gave us a chance to talk about Kat, which I saw as placating us. Let's give the crazy parents a moment to wax poetic about their darling offspring so they'll leave happy.
She did say that we need to nominate our daughterfor the gifted program and that she does belong there. She told us all of the wonderful things that go on in that program but the gist is she is not going to do a thing outside of her lesson plans so we need to wait until next year.
She also implied that maybe we are pressuring Kat too much which made me angry since I truly believe we are following her lead. She said she thought we were a bit hasty in coming to see her since it was only the 4th week of school.
It sounds like Kat is going to have to wait a year because this teacher is set in her ways.
On the bright side, we did manage to convey all of our points. We know Kat is one of many, we know she (the teacher) is busy, Kat deserves to learn each day, we want to help, we want to be a part of making Kat's school experience positive, we want to do all we can for her. She asked us where Kat was in reading and I was able to tell her in the Fountas and Pinnel-speak that our school system uses.
DH says that now we just wait until conferences in November and see what happens between now and then.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Going to bat.
Kat is in kindergarten this year. Two separate kindergartens to be precise. In the mornings she goes to a lovely Montessori school. They meet her where she is at, they allow her to be a 5 year old girl with 5 year old feelings, they genuinely love my daughter.
In the afternoons she goes to public school kindergarten. They teach her things she mastered over two years ago, they teach her to toe the line, and they let her play outside at recess.
Kat started complaining after the first week of school that her public school teacher is like a preschool teacher and that she knows the material already. We encouraged her to write a letter to her teacher to tell her what she wanted to do at school the next day. The letter was met with a reprimand, "We do not chase people at school." (The letter was about playing tag at recess.) We encouraged Kat to read to her teacher, to wait until the other children were busy and the teacher was at her desk alone and offer to read her a book. Kat says she approached her teacher and said, "I can read." The teacher replied, "Okay." and that was the end of the conversation.
Her public school teacher does not seem interested in what Kat knows. We realize that this teacher has 24 other students to get up to grade level and our play by the rules girl is very easy to overlook.
So today we meet with the teacher. We decided to take it slowly, to just go and feel the teacher out a bit. To ask what she's done in the past with students like our daughter and to maybe show this teacher some of the work our daughter has done in the past. This is uncharted territory for Peter and I, we've never had to advocate for her before and it is kind of scary!
In the afternoons she goes to public school kindergarten. They teach her things she mastered over two years ago, they teach her to toe the line, and they let her play outside at recess.
Kat started complaining after the first week of school that her public school teacher is like a preschool teacher and that she knows the material already. We encouraged her to write a letter to her teacher to tell her what she wanted to do at school the next day. The letter was met with a reprimand, "We do not chase people at school." (The letter was about playing tag at recess.) We encouraged Kat to read to her teacher, to wait until the other children were busy and the teacher was at her desk alone and offer to read her a book. Kat says she approached her teacher and said, "I can read." The teacher replied, "Okay." and that was the end of the conversation.
Her public school teacher does not seem interested in what Kat knows. We realize that this teacher has 24 other students to get up to grade level and our play by the rules girl is very easy to overlook.
So today we meet with the teacher. We decided to take it slowly, to just go and feel the teacher out a bit. To ask what she's done in the past with students like our daughter and to maybe show this teacher some of the work our daughter has done in the past. This is uncharted territory for Peter and I, we've never had to advocate for her before and it is kind of scary!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)