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FEBRUARY 2003- FINDING THE RIGHT PRESCHOOL FOR YOUR CHILD I myself loved preschool and all the excitement each day held. I met my best friend Lisa in preschool at age 3 and we are still best friends 31 years later! I have fond memories of playing with the funnels in the sand-sensory table with my friend Jason (now has two kids of his own too) and learning to take turns. I remember swinging on the rope-swing with Amy and how she told me I could yell louder than anyone she knew. (Amy, Jason and I were all in the same 'clique' in high school but Lisa went to a different school.) I remember cheerful and sweet Mrs. Feaster so fondly- my mother still sees her in the grocery store once in a while and she even asks about me by name thirty yeas later! Can you imagine? I taught 3 year olds in a high-end preschool for about a year while I was deciding what age group I wanted to work with. It was such a fabulous age to be with! So full of excitement to learn and try new things. I planted a garden by the playground that year, and had eager helpers weeding and watering every day. Oh! The excitement and amazement when we could eat from our garden! I have never seen children so eager to eat peas and carrots! Each new day was a learning experience for me as well as them. I can now recite "The Lion King" verbatim- we never watched it in school, but two of the girls would enact it at recess daily. The wrath I would incur if I actually called them by their real names rather than Simba or Sarabi. I loved working with the children there, but the administrative support and the curriculum were severely lacking. When I started to look into preschools for my son I found the local head-start program in our community. I was immediately and have continued to be impressed by this school to no end! The teachers and administrators are so interested in and committed to the children and their families. They are so full of positive energy- I wish I could buy some from them! The curriculum is exactly what I was looking for- it takes a much more proactive position towards learning than the school where I taught, while still giving each student their own space (not overbearing on academics), and allowing plenty of time for socialization and discovery. Each student goes through testing (which are games to them) to find their current level of progress, and then the teacher conferences one-on-one with the parents to discuss the outcome and work together to set goals for the child. The teacher helps to develop plans for helping the child to reach those goals, both at home and at school. This goes above and beyond other schools that I have come across! Our school's director, Dee, has been working with the nationally known author and physician, Dr. T. Berry Brazelton for the past two years. (His most well known books are Touchpoints and Mothers and Infants look hi up on the web- he is pretty inspiring!). Last week Dr. Brazelton paid a visit to my son's school. The school then invited the children and their families to a dinner and discussion with Dr. Brazelton, and each family received his latest book Touchpoints age 3-6. For the next three weeks the teachers are working closely with Dr. Brazelton to personalize curriculum for our children. (A funny note- Dee is the director of Yakov's Head-Start school, and after he attended school there I found out that her son was one of my students at the Northwest College of Art where I teach. He recently graduated and presented an amazing senior show.) I feel so fortunate to have found a school with teachers and administrators that are so involved, caring, and active. I feel so fortunate that my son loves going to school each day- I can't think of a better experience for him to begin his school career with. When I asked him what he liked about school (so I could include it in this article) his response was "I like how they change the toys around, and…I just love school!" It makes me so happy to hear that! It is wonderful to send him for a few hours a day and know that he is getting the socialization and education he needs. He is playing with other kids his age and doing age appropriate activities daily. I consider myself an excellent parent but there is no way I could provide him with all of the things he gets from school each day (even as a former preschool teacher!) in addition to what we are giving him at home. I guess, what I am trying to stress is the importance of finding the school that is right for your child and family. As with anything you do for your child, when he/she is ready investigate thoroughly to be sure it lives up to your standards. If you are not ranting and raving about it in a positive way, keep looking! It is so important to find the right fit in these early, formative years.

Join the MYSTICOOL MOMS newsletter list Enter your name and email address: Name: Email:   Subscribe      Unsubscribe Visit Heidi's Handmade Jewelry Site Teach your children essential tools for life. Heidi's husband Nick is the author of this educational workbook for children. Our family is sitting at the dinner table, eating pasta and discussing the sauce, and what kinds of sauces we like…. Yakov joins into the conversation and says, "I don't like red-sauce, I like white-sauce. And I like Tartar Sauce…but I don't like 'Carter Sauce'…that's puke!" (Carter is Heidi's son who has reflux and spits up often) ~ Darren and Yakov are in the car on their way home when Yakov says, "Daddy when we get home can we wrestle?" Darren says, "Well, we'll see when we get there." Yakov: "I promise I won't kick you in the testicles." Darren "Thanks, that's nice."

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Heidi's husband Nick wrote this workbook about Character Development. If you want to help instill values, virtues and character in your child then check out this out!

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