Back to School!

I guess we can say "back to school" since Lyla has been in school before. Just not this school. We have entertained the idea of enrolling Lyla in a Montessori school for a year, now, and after seeing a new one open up roughly ten minutes from our house, I had to go check it out. Lyla has been ready to go back to school since, well, her last day at Compass Preschool back in May.

I was impressed with all the new, shiny materials, of course, friendly faces, happy kids, great curriculum, methodology, etc. Everything seemed a good fit. Even the price was very reasonable. A few days later, I started out to get the girl registered and got a call from our realtor saying we may have an offer on the house. So, I promptly turned around and informed the school of our "on the fence" situation. After another week of not-knowingness, it surfaced that the potential buyers couldn't get pre-approved for a loan. So, I got in my car and headed back to Pinnacle Montessori to make it official.

My Lyla started the very next day! And she, of course, did great! I couldn't even shed a tear because she was just so happy to be going and easy to drop off. She is currently enrolled half-day, 5 days a week. We are considering some of the other schedule options, like full day 3x a week or even full-time-full-time. I miss having her at home with me! With half-day, the only thing she's really missing is naptime, but at the same time, noon is an awkward time to have to get back to the school to pick her up, particularly with Flint's schedule. Luckily the school is very flexible and we'll be able to experiment until we figure out what works best for our family.

In the meantime, Lyla is getting to know Ms. Minnie (or maybe it's Meenie?) and Ms. Aisha, as well as a classroom full of new kids of all different backgrounds, ages ranging from 3-6 years, and not to mention a whole new set of boundaries and routines.

On her first day, I was encouraged to stay a little while and take some photos while Lyla got settled. During that time, a handful of new friends introduced themselves to her, complete with handshakes, then demonstrated how the morning stations are done. I watched one adorable little girl show her how to read a short primer book, then offer it to her and ask her if she wanted to try it all by herself. She was quiet as a clam at that moment, shy especially for her, but I knew she'd warm up quick. Ms. Minnie said later that Lyla perked up fast and exclaimed with excitement when it was time to line up for recess, "Ooo, I wanna go outside!" And after school, while she was thrilled to see me, among the first things she told me was, "But I didn't sleep yet!" because she had been hoping to nap at school after lunch.

Dressed and ready to go!

In front of school!In her new class, with her helper-buddy...

After we picked her up. She had a good day!Day 2 - dressed and ready!

It's been about two weeks, now (if you can't tell by the date on this post!), and Lyla has gotten the swing of the routine, but she's still adjusting at school. In Montessori terms, they are working on achieving "normalization." In my opinion, it's a poor choice of words, but it basically refers to "the natural or normal state for a human as characterized by four attributes: 1. A love of work or activity , 2. Concentration on an activity, 3. Self-discipline, 4. Sociability or joyful work."

"The understanding of normalization doesn’t require a leap of faith when you consider those moments you feel most alive and more 'you' than any other time. When we do what we love and love doing it because we have the skill and self-discipline to do the activity well, those are the blissful moments of being human... In a Montessori school we are trying to help the child attain a natural or normal developmental process, which is referred to as normalization.."

To read more about Montessori methodology and philosophy, go here!

Last week (after promising I wasn't "that parent"), I met with the director, Mrs. Cathy, to ask some questions and express some concerns about feeling disconnected. There hadn't been much communication and barely even an introduction to the class or teacher. She was very reassuring and explained the rough start being due to some administration changes right at the opening of the school. Things are now beginning to settle, and it seems like everyone is finding their groove. I am hoping to get a little more communication from the teachers to get a better idea of what's going on while my baby girl is at school. Cause, while she can tell me with her excellent verbal skills, she won't share much with me beyond, "I played on the playground. We sang 'I am hungry' and Brandon hit me and got in trouble."

In a few days, there will be an orientation for parents, and a PTA meeting. I'm kind of excited to be on "the other side" right now and hope to get very involved at her school through PTA, volunteering, and maybe substituting.

We're looking forward to a very exciting year for our girl! She loves learning and what better way to help her soak up all she can in that spongy head of hers than to immerse her in an environment that fosters just that!?

More August and September pics at Picasa! (coming soon)