Ok, so I went with bangs and high/low lights...no red. But I have "real" haircut that's not too mommy-ish...tattoo in there somewhere next week?..tbc...

pricely little upgrades for mommy...:)

Ok, so many of you offered a lot of good advice when I asked about a business proposal (THANKS btw)...well, I looked into many avenues and I found Bright Horizons to be a great resource. Here's what it is.

Bright Horizons is company that works with businesses to set up employer-sponsored childcare programs (private or public). They come in, do the research, make the plan, work with your company, and figure out all the things your company will need to implement affordable childcare on or off campus. They do small programs to large, they even set up in-home schools for celebrities. Anyway, I contacted them because they are the pros any company considering in-house childcare would likely listen to. I'm not in any place to run a facility myself- too crazy right now BUT they establish everything according to  a company's style and vibe...it's not cookie cutter.  I've seen many of their facilities in Colorado...They work with the business philosophy to establish an NAEYC accredited program. They even do Montessori if the community is interested in that design. Anyway, I'm trying to bring the company I have in mind together with Bright Horizons. I'll keep you posted if we make any progress...

Oh, and anyone considering employee-sponsored childcare, check these guys out.

Ok. so, you know the statement..."you only get one chance to make first impression..." or  something like that, well, let me tell you a little anecdote about how I entered the school community last year on open house day. This might make some of the back to school anxiety a little more comical, if you will...I'm still not sure it's funny .

Well, about a year ago, my son got these crazy spots on his stomach. It looked like a rash. Ok, cool. Then, it spread like crazy. By the morning, he was bruising where all the spots wer on his body. I brought  him in to the hospital, er style. The doctors were like, wow...this is rare...I was all freaked out...they were like, this is called henoch-schonlein purpura (essentially purple spots all over the body that fade, eventually leaving a faint mark...like a bruise) and we rarely see this. It's not dangerous and he'll be fine. They had the intern doctors come in to look at it because it was such a rare event.  I was like, ok, fine.

I took him to the doctor (his pediatrician totally diagnosed and saw the entire course of his disease) so I can verify his actual illness!

The bumps started red, then turned dark to faint purple.  You can inaginew how long it took for these to clear-they start on the trunk and move to the limbs, really getting the thighs and butt and down to the ankles...anyway, it was a few weeks for sure. So, he got over any discomfort but he was still healing. Bottom line: he was fine and he had no symptoms or anything, just faded marks all over his body...you might know where this is going impression-wise.

So, in August, we had just moved cross country, lived in a hotel while house hunting (that was fun) and we were barely settled in. I think this may have been the first time we went to the new pediatrician..anyway, I don't remember . 

At the end of the month, it was my 2nd grader's open house. I was thinking, cool, we'll meet the administrators, teachers, everybody. We'll meet our new little community.

Well in a rush, Tgot dressed (by now I am not phased by the spots and they had faded substantially) and put on shorts. I had the baby so I was distracted with him and the anticipation of going...whatever, stupid me, I didn't think of the fact that his legs looked bruised up and down. So we get there and we walk into the foyer and I noticed these ladies looking at me with an odd look...you know when you get a look and you don't know why...and then I figured it out...my stomach dropped and I looked down at DS's leg...they looked totally bruised and battered. I thought, OMG, here we go...they think I totally did this. But, I couldn't run up and say something to the ladies...so I just said to myself, oh well, he's fine and I know it so who cares...

Well, it turns out the ladies that gave me the first glance were -the  nurse and the office secretary...imagine what happened on the rumor mill that day.  [I think it was the nurse, or it was the counselor..I still don't have everyone straight]

That is how my family arrived on the scene. Wild, right?

Thespots were really faded by this point...He healed just fine, FYI.

Okay, I knew it was back to school this morning because last night my son took a shower, got dressed in his new shirt, jeans, socks...everything and went to sleep.

He sleeps fully dressed for the next day every single night....fine by me, one less battle in the morning! He's done this for years, he's eight. :)

Ok, so I just realized that I have talked about getting a tattoo, a nose-ring, cutting bangs, and going drastically brunette...all in the past month or so.

Part of it is that I look the same (but older and chubbier) as I did in high school/college. I feel like I go to my kids' schools and they think I am the nanny or I had kids at age 13...I just feel young-looking (I wear younger clothes, which I like, but it makes me seem college era)...SO, I don't want a mom-do but I need a new look.

Advice welcome. Anyone else or am I the only wacko?

Charter School Laws!

I listed this because VT is one of only ten states without charter school/choice laws (Center for Education Reform )and, because I went to CU Denver :). 

 Parent satisfaction is high for wealthy parents because they know they have options. For everyone else, it's not up for conversation. The following article is  testament to what choice can do for people who can't afford (or get in to for that matter!) private schools.  

Right here in Vermont, we have to send our kids to the neighborhood school. For me, I'm ok with that because my neighborhood school is very good by state standards. There's also a close community that comes together because of the school. However, even in Burlington, there is a need for choice. Just think about it...

What there were a free Renaissance-type school? What if there were a free outdoor leadership high school? What if there were a k-8 choice rather than attending a middle school? What if there were a regional bilingual school? Of course, I'll say it..or a free Montessori school? Those are realitistic options for parents in 40 other states.

Of course many states have crappy laws that don't work effectively in creating quality schools. However, many do. People say Vermont prides itself in small community schools or the population is not high enough or there's already some choice (there is a proposed magnet school in the works) but I know the demographics are changing and people have varying interests. Some just like the safety in knowing there are alternatives. I've only been here a year so I will admit I don't know Vermont's educational system all that well. I just know what works elsewhere is not available here.  It's just something to think about and be aware of, really.

Bottom Line: We already know wealthy, upper class parents are happier because they can choose to send their children where they want. This article is for the rest of the population. I'd include middle income parents to the spectrum below.... just because options are limited for many in the middle...

School choices satisfy, study says

Low-income parents happy with options

By ALAN J. BORSUK
aborsuk@journalsentinel.com

Posted: Jan. 8, 2007

As Milwaukee Public Schools launches its premier period for enrolling students for next school year, University of Colorado researchers are issuing a report that says low-income parents in Milwaukee are happy with the range of choices they have for their children. The report also says those parents select schools in ways that aren't much different from higher-income parents elsewhere.

The researchers based their findings on surveys conducted about a year ago with 300 parents in Milwaukee, 300 in Washington, D.C., and 200 in Denver. Milwaukee and Washington are on the cutting edge of school choice in the United States, each with wide arrays of options for parents, including numerous charter schools and private schools that take part in publicly funded voucher programs for low-income families.

"This report's general finding is that low-income urban parents report feeling more well informed than was anticipated," the researchers said in the report, being released today. "They are extremely satisfied with their choices, and most do not believe that they lacked any important information when they made their choice."

The optimistic conclusions about school choice - in the broadest sense of the term - do not include an assessment of whether parents were actually making good choices in terms of schools where academic achievement is strong or where their children specifically would thrive.

But it does speak to one of the major pillars of the education scene in Milwaukee: giving parents a huge array of choices in where to send their children to school. Parents might have more choices in publicly funded education in Milwaukee than anywhere else in the United States.

The existence of that range of choices has made efforts to get students into classrooms seats - whether in MPS, charter schools or vouchers schools - one of the major shaping forces of education in the city. In all three streams of education, students mean dollars for individual schools, and missing enrollment goals can cause serious consequences. The result is that almost every school is more actively recruiting students.

Enrollment under way

MPS' annual "three-choice" enrollment period began Monday and continues until Jan. 26. During that period, parents of students who either want to or need to enroll in a new school for September can submit a request in which they can list three choices in order of their preferences. MPS officials say that 16,800 parents submitted applications during the "three-choice" period last year; 93.7% got their first choice, and 97.3% got one of their three choices.

Enrollment continues until school starts, but the early choosers stand the best chance of getting the schools they want.

The launch of MPS' main effort means non-MPS schools - including some scheduled to open for the first time in the fall - are also actively campaigning to sign up students.

In addition, the enrollment period for minority students from Milwaukee who want to attend suburban schools under Wisconsin's Chapter 220 voluntary integration program began Monday and continues until Jan. 26. And the statewide enrollment period for students who want to attend public schools in another district under the state's open enrollment law is from Feb. 5 to 23.

The conclusions that low-income parents in Milwaukee are happy with the choice process come from Paul Teske, Jody Fitzpatrick and Gabriel Kaplan, three researchers at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center. Their report was issued by the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington in Seattle.

The researchers say 68% of the parents surveyed are very satisfied with their school choices and another 20% are somewhat satisfied, an 88% total. In Milwaukee, they say, the comparable figure was 94%, with 77% very satisfied.

"In addition, Milwaukee parents are significantly more likely to say they 'did not lack any important information,' " they write.

The researchers write, "Low-income parents seem to value very much the same things in schools as do higher-income parents. Academic quality, by various measures, is the number one factor." However, the study notes, many parents did not check things such as test scores at the schools they were considering and, in the case of private schools in Milwaukee's voucher program, test scores are not required to be made public.

"The survey data indicate that parents work hard at getting the information they need," the report says. However, parents generally consider only a limited number of options for their children. About half consider two schools and apply to just one.

I'm raising little rippers. I can't help it. I want them to seek and destroy. I want them to jump, slide, clear and launch. I teach them to speed check, scout landings and be smart when attempting certain stunts. I make sure they wear their helmets and their necessary pads. Of course dad, mostly by default, gets to have  the most fun with them and teach them all the skillsz they need to be little rippers. Actually, now that I say that, I think the skillz are already in place.

Besides, I'm not the one they are gonna look up to. They won't care if mom tried a frontside 3, it's just not of any importance. Of COURSE there will always be other kids with better ability and OF COURSE I'll favor my kids and think they are good when they might suck...I'm one of the new school soccer moms...I bet a few of you are too...So, I just continue on.  My day will, come I guess, to get back out there...that is if I can ever fit back into my gear ...will I ever be able to fit back in my gear?  drats...it's just not as fun with all that post-baby swing-weight...

SO, if you have kids who rip CHECK THIS OUT! It's cool...I just registered my 8yo. seriously, watch the video...

www.kidswhorip.com

my 8yo is all into music right now...

Two years ago, my father (who plays bass and guitar) bought him a small acoustic. My son didn't really know what to do but he played around on it. He's always showed an ear for it (I can't explain it but i just can't do the things he does when playing around...it's like he gets something I don't).

Then, last Christmas he wanted drums. I thought, well, he needs something to make him happy…he had had a difficult year and his teachers / counselors were saying he had no self control (he has excessive need to touch, feel, whack, bonk, move, explore everything within reach- that’s why a Montessori classroom was perfect for him-). I figured, sure, let the kid have kid drums....

He mastered the baby set and he wanted a keyboard. His memere (who can also play guitar) hooked him up with a rad, used keyboard and he loved it. He started piano lessons and even my neighbor was like, "hey, you know M really has an ear for music."  Cool, because I don't.  So the keyboard joined the family.

Next, it was a beginner bass. M used his own money to buy an epiphone beginner bass.  We borrowed an amp and he's been playing around on that. He wants pink floyd's money to be his first song...we're going with Led Zep instead...anyway, the neighbor (a pro bass player) hooked him up with an amp and he's learning that by ear....

Then, I get a phone call that my mother scored a free full sized 10-piece beat up but totally fine drumset. I was like, ok...fine. So, in come the drums. Low and behold, within one week, no joke, my son has everything set up to his liking (like he knows what he's doing) and he can play. No kidding, joke, biased opinion...for an 8 yo the kid can totally play the drums. He plays with all kinds of rythms (rythms or beat, I don't even know...) fast, slow, high hat, double beats...it's crazy. It's loud (they are in the basement & he only plays a couple times a day) but crazy!

THEN, gram comes to visit and another trip to daddy's junky music ....and here comes an electric guitar!

M, my son, has a masterplan (with all the nighborhood boys) to have a band...they watch school of rock together and it's really fun to see him and his friends take to all this musical excitement.... 

Point?

Don't forget to let the kids have instruments! Oh, and guitar hero counts :)

In my case I know that this is probably one of the best things that has ever happened to my ornery, diva, hard-to please-son ...he's actually happy doing something!!!! yeah instruments...

okay, people...Shelburne Farms is spectacular. I've never in my life eaten such gourmet food. I was amazed. Everything was local and SO fresh. I ordered beef ribeye -which I never order- but it was a special treat. The chef is putting out a gourmet cookbook this fall. I'll post the info when it comes out. I'll have to buy one and give it to the people in my life who love to cook. Me, I would NEVER in my life be able to pull off one single serving of the foods I sampled .

Now, let me say I rarely venture past chicken or beef. In fact, I'm not a big meat person at all. If you are vegetarian, there's little for you on the menu. BUT the menu changes and there were a few pasta choices so don't be discouraged.

Dinner Highlights:

We had a shot of chilled tomato water- which I had never even heard of and a variety of appetizers including a Vermont cheese board. We indulged in our main courses (I had duck fat fried french fries with my beef...how's that for venturesome) and my hubby had brooktrout. I tried the chicken and it was so decadent it tasted like duck, which I have actually never tried but someone said that so I believe it!

Dessert was a small scoop of hazelnut ice cream and a tiny chocolate cake. YUM

 Anyway every bite had at least 5 or 6 distinct flavors. It was wild. I'm so used to flat foods like mac & cheese and quesadillas, this was a whole different league. I'm proud of my brave attitude toward foods I'd NEVER try but I still feel bad for the happy farm animals I had for dinner. Oh well, I'll chalk this one up to a cultural culinary experience  and move on... 

THANKS YOU ALL RULE.... I will try every avenue. I've been asked to take this project on by a few separate parties so all your ideas really do give me direction. I started a licensed in-home situation when I moved here but I didn't like being alone (no social component for me!) with the kids and not having the structure of a school...plus it was my house and things were not easy to keep organized or clean. I did, however, love the kids that came to my house. That lasted less than a year because I wanted to get into writing and take the stress out of my house. I'm still for the cause, FOR SURE, but it's hard to get up and make things happen.

You know, I guess I should also call all the local childcare facilities and get numbers...how many infant slots? how many on waitlists? how many families? demographics - or at lease how far do families travel to get there? stuff like that- more real life stats to beef up the presentation...I understand state guidelines and I think I have the education but not the years of experience to back the proposal. (master's in ed, although not early childhood...but I think it'll fly anyway.)

Sticky the thing with expanding Montessori is finding trained teachers...there's a training center in boulder and the city of boulder has a Montessori school in practically every neighborhood / suburb(the whole front range does) but here, nobody's properly trained because nobody here (at all 5 local colleges) offers a satellite program. To get a satellite program, you need experienced local teachers (certified by the proper Montessori association) to teach the courses. It's just really difficult without a solid community of Montessori people.

Although, I KNOW people would love this type of thing around here- especially with the toy recalls and the plastic junk everywhere- Montessori is earthy and simple but academic and inviting- for many but not obviously not all. I was lucky enough to send my son to the kind of Montessori programs that showcase the intended design of the curriculum. Many parents find off-target schools / teachers and then have a sour taste about it.  Every classroom is strategically designed around the students and materials are to be used in specific order. If anything design-wise is below quality, the program can look like a mess.

But, with the new Sprout store, things might be looking up!

Anyway, I'm going to go for it, thanks!

-DB

anyone ever written an educational business plan to start a school???

anyone ever conducted educational research?? anyone a pro in this area?? anyone know anyone who has?? I'm interested in proposing a GREAT ed opportunity to an undisclosed party.  I have some ed research experience but nothing substantial- but I get it enough to  learn it...I just need any inside pointers you've got.

WHY? I'm basically looking to start an educational program with someone elses's funding...do I do a research presentation, proposal...any clues?

db

I miss Montessori! I am such a mush but I feel like half of me (as a parent) is still missing, even after a year of not being a montessori parent. I know what you're thinking, you can still be a montessori parent, but it's not the same. I've got no community (except my neighbor from NYC has the same sentiment as I do...she misses her days as a Montessori parent and we cry about it often, lol) My son, a third grader, still talks about his old classroom.

I am nostalgic for the better, more beautiful days in the classroom. It sucks. I'll admit Vermont is cool but in the education department, it's behind...I'm bummed and I feel like I had a glimpse of what I FINALLY wanted and appreciated and supported for my own children. It was the gift I could give them. It was the thing that made me feel like I was offering them something special in the world...a form of education that was really classical and wholesome...and now, I can't offer that to them. If I were trained in it, I'd open a school (God knows Burlington needs a full-scale Montessori campus...birth through elementary) but of course, I'm not and of course, there's no place to get training around here...and all that. I know there are a few outstanding schools in the state but there sure aren't any that are within a reasonable location...fudge. Anyway, time to make lunch....

here's an article on my hubby's mom...USA today...just for fun.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/home/2007-08-16-athome-peggy-fleming_N.htm

Memory Makers

Sick of kicking yourself for not preserving your kid’s magical moments?

Well, here are a few things that we can all do to make making memories rememberable. We all know photos are fab but try these for nostalgia’s sake. Be sure to buy a box of Ziploc bags and find a box to hold everything “time-capsule” style.

Spray a scent you wear on a perfume card and zip it away in a plastic bag.

Do the same with your child’s lotion or any scent that will stir up memories later.

Cut several swatches (with caption, if you want) of fabric from an old blankie or outfit.

Take photos of your child’s favorite toys and treasures.

Keep a book, folder, or drop box of awesome quotes.

Write a Bio-Poem (see below) and collage it.

Make a pillowcase, quilts or any other decorative fabric from your child’s blankies*.

Take a group “class picture” style phot with all your child’s stuffed animals. When the animals are long gone, the pic will briong back smiles.

Made a cd of your favorite tunes, store it away.

Make a voice recorded message, store it away.

Laundry list your child’s favorite restaurants, foods & meal time quirks.

Make a (not to scale) map that includes your town and your favorite places to go.

Write down favorite preschool performance songs, teachers and activities your child loved best.

Jot down your child’s temperament, with examples, to compare personality later in life.

For example:

SERIOUS: My son sat through an entire preschool Christmas show, wearing Saturn on his head (they were planets) and he didn’t sing, smile, laugh or even act like this was entertaining to him at all. He’s going to have that same attitude always, I am sure.

Write favorite TV shows so that your child will have a flashback when you mention the title.

Make predictions about your children, put them away and check back in many years.

Make suggestions to refer back to later.

Instead of keeping all those drawing that collect, cut out little bits of each one and make a collage for later (a preschool, kindergarten, first grade collage).

Brainstorm family vacations and voyages, recap each one.

Make a list of “want to go” places and see if you actually make it there!

Feel free to add your memory making ideas in the comment section!

* Note, dustbunny doesn’t sew, so this one won’t happen, lol

Need some indoor distractions?

Try these:

Gas Balloon:

You need:

Funnel

2tsp baking soda

1 small bottle

1/3 c vinegar

1 balloon

Have your child pour the baking soda into the bottom of the bottle.  Pour vinegar into the balloon. Carefully stretch the balloon over the opening (without spilling the vinegar into the bottle).  Lift the balloon so the vinegar spills into the baking soda...watch the balloon fill! (you can use alka seltzer & water instead).

Shiny Pennies

Preschoolers can mix, stir, pour and retrieve...just help out and guide with this one.

4 TBS salt

1/2 vinegar

Gather piggy bank pennies...the dirty grimy ones.  Dissolve the salt into the vinegar. Dump pennies in. Stir, stir, stir. Retrieve and place on a paper towel to dry. All shiny and bright!

Catapult

You need:

Foam or rubber ball or bouncy items (like rubber dinsaurs or something)

C-clamp

Ruler or yardstick

Take the ruler, c-clamp it to a table. Put the ball or  whatever on the end. launch! Remember to take it apart or your keys and other little essential might end up in mysterious places....

Kazoos

Wax paper

Toilet paper roll

Rubber band

Stretch the paper over one end; secure with a rubber band (like a drum). Make a tiny hole about an inch from the blowing end, so the paper doesn't blow off. Remember to hum....not blow.

Junk Sculpture

Take anything and make a sculpture out of it...get creative.

"Run Through Delight"

Think of this a mini curtain rod & curtain.

You need:

A dowel or some stick.

2 dish towels, pillowcases or whatever. 

Wrap them around the dowel, pin in place (like a curtain). Hold above your toddler's head and let him or her run through back & forth.

BOXES

Of course, the old standby...

Box boat with cardboard paddles, box house, box puppet show theatre, box tv (black construction paper in the background, let kids make a show), box kitchen (include fridge), simple dollhouse, rocket. etc.

Wheel-n-Axle

Need:

2 jar lids

Dowel or pencil

Poke a hole in the center of each, watch the wheels turn.

Marshmallow-Toothpick Structure

You remember these. Take toothpicks and mini-marshmallows to construct a building.

Ideas adapted from The Father's Almanac by S. Adams Sullivan