Olivia

Some of you have heard this story before, but I wanted to write about it anyway.  I just love it.

As you know, Bennett goes to the Montessori school here.  He doesn't like to talk to me much about what he does at school for some reason, but he'll talk to me about his friends sometimes.  He used to come home talking about Landon and Colton all the time.  Those were his buds.  Some days they were his friends, some days they weren't, but it was always Landon and Colton.

Over the last couple of months it has changed to Olivia.  No more Landon and Colton.  It was Olivia this, Olivia that.  Olivia was his new best bud.  Every day, he was coming home talking to me about what he and Olivia did, or how he was going to invite her to his next birthday party.

A few weeks ago, I went to Montessori to meet with Bennett's teacher for a conference.  When I got there, Bennett was finishing up his lunch at a table by himself.  I joined him while I waited for his teacher.

We were talking when the door to the playground opened, and in walked three girls.  A cute little blonde headed girl, who looked to be about 5, lead the pack.  Bennett said, "Look, Mama!  It's Olivia!"  The girls walked across the room towards us.  It was like a scene out of a movie, with Olivia as the head of the group and her two sidekicks following close behind.

As they neared us, Bennett said, "Olivia!  Olivia!  Hi Olivia!"  Olivia looked at us and said, "Hi Bennett" as she and her crew passed by.  Bennett turned back around in his chair and said to me, "Mama!  Olivia knows my name!"

Priceless.

Montessori Spring Fling 2011

Saturday was the Spring Fling at Montessori. We weren't able to go last year for some reason, so I really wanted Bennett to be able to go this year. Plus, he's old enough to really be able to enjoy it. But it turned out that it was the same weekend as the tour of homes we were on. There's now way I could have done both. Thank goodness for grandparents! Lynn and Steve came and got the boys on Thursday and took them back to their house so we would have Thursday evening and all day Friday to finish getting ready for the tour, and then brought them back to Douglasville to go to the Spring Fling while the tour was going on Saturday.

Well, there's no way I couldn't at least go see Bennett's class performance. He's been practicing this song at home for the past few weeks, and I really wanted to see him sing it with his class. So I broke away from the tour for a little bit and went up there.  They had just finished up lunch when I got there.

It was a really hot day, so it apparently took him a while to really get comfortable and have fun. He wanted to play in the bouncy house, but the sun was shining right on it and making the vinyl really hot on your feet. Steve went to the car and got him a pair of socks so it wouldn't be so bad.

Then, to Bennett's surprise, Poppa showed up.  Daddy called me and asked me how it was going, assuming I was at the house for the tour, but I told him I took a break to come over to Montessori for the Spring Fling.  He said, "Well maybe I'll just come up there.  Do they have food?"  We are just alike - always thinking about food.

Bennett played a few games while Cannon enjoyed the ride.

Then it was time for Bennett to line up with his class for their performance.  I don't know why I love this picture so much, but I do.  I guess just seeing my little boy in a crowd of other little boys and girls.

Anyway, here's their song(s).  Don't ask me what they're saying, because I have no clue. Some of it is obviously in different languages, but I can't even understand some of the English words. :)

(Bennett is next to the little girl in pink.)

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

My Little Sweetheart

Bennett's Montessori class had a Valentine's Day party Monday, and I attended. I dropped him off as usual at 9:00, then came back around 10:30 to join the party. When I got there they were all out on the playground. I went out to find Bennett, but couldn't find him. I finally saw him playing by himself in this little house. He was sitting in a chair at this little activity center, carefully putting pine straw and sweet gum balls on it. I stood there for several seconds, and he never looked up at me. I decided to let him be since he was content. I went back inside and helped his teachers prepare for the party.

The party was a bit chaotic (this is the first time I've ever seen anything remotely chaotic at this school), but I guess sometimes it can't be helped when you have a classroom full of 3, 4 and 5 year olds. It was fun helping them pass out all their Valentine's, and then we got to eat some yummy pizza. Actually, I can't stand the pizza they get. Have y'all had the Pizza Hut "Pizza Mia?" It's the pizza that's supposed to be made with "real cheese." I don't like it at all. I guess I prefer fake cheese.

After lunch they went back out to the playground. I went out with Bennett this time, and this is where he becomes 'my little sweetheart.'

When we got out onto the playground, Bennett turned to me and said, "My doh det you a chair, Mama. My be wight back." He ran down to the lower part of the playground where he had been earlier that day, got the little chair he had been sitting in, and carried it back up to where I was standing. He said, "Dere, Mama. Dere's a chair wor you." My heart melted.

Later on, we were on a different part of the playground and I was standing, watching Bennett play. Bennett noticed that some little girls had added a few chairs to the one he brought for me and were sitting in them. He went over there and said, "Hey! Dat my Mama's chair!" He was fine after I explained to him that I was no longer using the chair.

Then when it was time to go in, we headed for the door. He went ahead of me and said, "My will det duh door wor you, Mama." He then opened the door and let me inside. My three year old son. On Valentine's Day.

It doesn't get any sweeter than that.

Makes a Mama Feel Good

I pick Bennett up from Montessori at 3:00 every day. Unfortunately, that's what time they go out to the playground in the afternoons, and I've always kind of hated taking him away right when he's about to get to go run around and have fun.

For the last few weeks it has been way too hot outside, so they have been spending their afternoons inside and I haven't had to worry about making Bennett miss his playground time. Today when I got there I peeked through the window of the door, and I saw the back door (that leads to the playground) open and Ms. Lupe holding Bennett's hand. He was first in line, and he was jumping up and down. For a split second I got really happy, just seeing him that happy, but before that second was over I realized what I was about to have to do. I braced myself for a fight. I walked in and Ms. Lupe said, "Bennett, your Mama is here." I expected a nice long, "Noooooo! I don't want doh home! I want doh outWIIIIIDE!"

Instead, he let go of Ms. Lupe's hand and mumbled under his breath, "My Mama here. My Mama here." as he made his way through the group of fellow toddlers waiting to go outside.
When got close to me, I put my hands out for a hug and he lifted his head and arms up with a huge smile. I picked him up and he wrapped his arms and legs around me and gave me a huge hug.

Heaven. That's where I was for that moment. It was so, so nice. I could have stood there and squeezed him for 10 minutes.

Why Montessori?

A friend of my sister-in-law’s commented on my last post and suggested that I write a post on why I chose Montessori for Bennett over other programs.

I had decided that I would just comment back with my explanation since there wasn’t any really great research or comparison done. But then I started writing the comment and it started getting long and I realized, hey – why not make it a post? So here we are.

There are 4 main reasons for our choice.

Number 1: My Personal Experience

I went back and read my first post about Montessori and realized I didn’t exactly make it very clear that I went to the same school when I was Bennett’s age. Actually I think I may have been 2, because they didn't accept children under the age of 2 at that time. The director of the school is the same woman that was the director and my teacher when I was there, so I have a great deal of trust in her and the school. They have expanded from one building to three buildings over the years, but it makes me happy to know that Bennett's classroom is in the building that I went to long ago.

I didn't do any research on any other programs simply because I always knew I wanted him to have the experience I had at Montessori. When I started public school in first grade, I was one of the first students (and the only first grader) in my school to be involved in the gifted program called "program challenge." I continued to excel in school and have no doubt that it was in part due to my experience at Montessori School.

I can't remember ever not wanting to go there. The teachers were all very loving and encouraging, and I made some very good friends there (who also excelled in school later).

Number 2: The Language

The fact that my high school Spanish class was an absolute breeze can certainly be attributed to my Montessori experience. I have no knowledge of other Montessori schools' faculty, but the one I attended happened to consist of about 90% Latin American teachers. Spanish was spoken almost as much as English, and it was a huge part of the curriculum. Now more than ever, that is so important. I was very pleased to find it was still the same when I visited the school when Bennett was still an infant.

Number 3: The Environment

When I visited, I sat in on a couple classes and was amazed at how quiet the classrooms were. The children were so calm and content in what they were doing, and the teachers were soft-spoken and composed. Of course I'm sure they were on their best behavior, knowing there was a potential parent in the room, but since Bennett has started, I have never once heard a raised voice in the place.

The teachers appear to have the utmost respect for the children, the parents and for one another. It feels like you are a part of a very loving family when you go there. I know I am a little biased, having been a part of it so long ago and having such fond memories of the school, but I just can't stress how very comfortable I am leaving my child there. Right now as I type this I have a warm feeling in my heart, just thinking of the school and the staff.

Number 4: The Curriculum

I know each school/daycare/learning center has their own curriculum and approach to education that they feel is the best way. I'm sure if each parent had the knowledge and could choose, they would take bits and pieces from each and make the best curriculum for their child.

The thing I love about the Montessori method is that they focus on practical skills that the children will use everyday. There are activities that involve spooning beans or other small objects from one dish to another. This seems so simple, but it is a fun thing for the children to do (one of my clearest memories) and it does wonders for their hand eye coordination. Especially for Bennett and the smaller children who are just learning to use utensils to feed themselves.

All of the "toys" are educational. Every single item in the classroom has a purpose for being there. There aren't balls lying around or rocking horses; the children do not just play while they're there. While I can say that my cousin's Kids R Kids in Mableton is the same way, I think I can safely say that there are plenty of centers that just keep the kids happy until their parents come to get them.

In Bennett's classroom, they bathe baby dolls and dress them, wash their clothes and hang them out to dry. They take turns holding the snack tray and passing them out at snack time. Others then gather the plates and trash from snack and clean up the area. It's everyday things like this that children should learn at such an early age. My last post was about how Bennett now carries his dishes to the sink after every meal. I hate to say it, but I didn't teach him that. And if you read this recent post, you know that he's really only been there for a total of 7 days. I think it's phenomenal that he is already applying what he has learned there at home.

While I do plan to return to work, that is not the reason that we enrolled Bennett in Montessori School. It wasn't out of neccessity that we chose this program for him. It was a mutual decision that we wanted him to be a part of the Montessori program at such an early age.

Now the question is, how long does he stay in? At what point do we take him out and start public school? Do we start public school at all or try to afford private school? While I'm completely satisfied with our situation at the moment, we definitely have some bridges to cross down the road.

I Heart Montessori

One more thing.

Also within the last week, instead of finishing his food, throwing his hands up in the air and saying, "Ah nah!" (all done), he says, "Ah nah," gets up from his chair, picks up his plate or bowl, and carries it to the sink. After every meal.

I heart Montessori School.

My Little Ninny

Most of what Bennett says, I understand. He'll come up with new little "words" every once in a while, but it never takes me long to figure out what he is trying to say. Well, ever since he has been back in Montessori, he has started saying, "ninny." I've heard it occasionally over the last week, but I haven't known what he was saying.

Mama and Daddy kept him for a little while yesterday while Josh and I went to a Georgia football tailgate party (let's not talk about that game). When we got home, Mama said, "What is 'ninny'?" I said, "I don't know! He's been saying that all week and I can't figure out what it means." She suggested asking the teachers at Montessori, since maybe it could be part of a certain song they sing, or a Spanish word that they use often. Good idea.

This morning I was sitting at Josh's laptop looking at my facebook profile. Bennett wanted up in my lap, so I pulled him up there. He saw my profile picture (which is a picture of me and Josh) and said, "Dada!" I said, "Yes, that is Daddy! Who else do you see?" He replied, "Mama!" So I decided to pull up the rest of my pictures and see who else he could identify.

And then it hit me. I had to try something to see if I was right. I pulled up a picture of him and said, "Bennett, who is that?" He hesitated, then said, "Ninny!"

Ninny means Bennett!

How absolutely adorable is that? I love it! And it makes sense that he's just now doing it, because every time I go pick him up from Montessori, he waves and says, "Bye bye" to everyone, and they all say, "Bye Bennett!" Bennett is one of the youngest in his class, so many of the other children are already talking.

I'm sure they spend time each day going over one another's names and the teachers have probably said his name plenty of times, explaining to the other kids, "Bennett is upset because this is a new place for him." Or "Bennett hasn't been feeling well." I'm sure Bennett has heard his name more in the last week than he's used to at home. Plus, he's just getting closer and closer to being able to talk anyway.

So there you go. My little Ninny.

The Montessori Blues

I can't remember how much I've said about this whole Montessori experience. I think I mentioned that his first couple of orientation days went really, REALLY well, and then the next few days he started catching on to the fact that, "hey, this is going to be a regular thing - maybe I don't like this so much after all." He cried when I dropped him off, but for the most part, he was a happy camper when I would pick him up at noon every day.

Well, the orientation days were a Thursday and a Friday. The next week it was Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday that he would cry during drop-off but be fine by the time I picked him up. That Thursday, he woke up with a runny nose and puffy eyes. I took him on to Montessori, but decided just to take him back home with me because I didn't want him to spread any germs or sickness that he might have. Friday at home was even worse as far as the nose, the sneezing, and fussing. Over that weekend, he and I were both sick and just laid around the house all weekend. Blah. By Tuesday, I finally decided to take him to the doctor, because he just wasn't getting better.

He had an ear infection. She prescribed some antibiotics and I continued to give him Tylenol. Wednesday he woke up with a fever of 103. His body was ON FIRE. He had slept in nothing but his diaper, and his skin was actually RED, he was so hot. All he wanted was to be held and lie on my chest all day. Poor baby. Thursday he was a little better, and by Friday he was back to himself, but I didn't take him back to Montessori that day because we were leaving for Florida on Sunday and would be gone the entire next week. I thought, what's the point in taking him back for one day after being out an entire week and then not going back for an entire week after that?

So, to St. George Island we went and had a wonderful time. We did, however have a bit of a stomach bug scare when Mac and Rachael both had diarrhea and were vomiting in their beds at night. Mac actually threw up one night in the living room after complaining that, "My tummy doesn't feel very good." Poor thing! Lauren cleaned everything up very well and, no offense Lauren, I went a little crazy with some Clorox wipes the next day. I just knew Bennett was going to get it and then give it to us, and Lynn and Steve, and we were all going to be a big mess of sick folks staring at the beach from the house.

But, much to our surprise, no one else ever felt bad at all. It was just those first couple of days, and Mac and Rachael were back to sweet little, beach lovin' kids and the rest of us continued to feel just fine!

Bennett was pretty much great for the ride home from the beach, and I was excited and nervous about getting him back into Montessori the following day. That next morning, which was Monday, Bennett was in kind of a weird state. He didn't eat much of his breakfast, and all he wanted was for me to hold him. He acted this way a little at the beach, and Lynn and I wondered if maybe he was experiencing a little bit of separation anxiety. I hated to even think that, because I've been so happy with how independent Bennett is. He's never really shown any sign of any anxiety. Until then. I don't know if it was just that we were in a different place with different people, or what. Yeah, it was family, but we don't get to see Lauren and her family as often as we would like, so they were fairly "new" to Bennett.

Anyway, I wound up asking Josh to take Bennett to school that morning since it was clear that it was going to be a bad drop off. I thought it might be marginally better if it were Josh rather than me, since Bennett was tending to cling to me that morning and the previous week. Josh had taken the day off to recover from vacation, so he had the time.

It didn't go so well. Josh said Bennett was desperate to stay in his arms and screamed and cried A LOT. He told Bennett's teacher to call if he was inconsolable. I knew they wouldn't call; he always winds up calming down and having fun there. Well, what do you know? I get a phone call around 10:40 (he was dropped off at 9) saying that Bennett cried NON-STOP for an hour and a half before completely exhausting himself and lying down in the floor and going to sleep. She said he slept for about 15 minutes and was okay when he woke up, but that I should probably plan to pick him up a little early. Josh was already out running errands, so I called him and asked if he could stop by and get him. He did, and he said when he got there, Bennett was lying with his face on the tile floor, asleep.

When he got home, I tried to get him to eat something, but he wouldn't eat. I put him straight to bed. He napped for 5 hours. When he woke up he still wouldn't eat, and just lied around the rest of the day. That is NOT Bennett. If he is able, he is moving. That evening is when he began to tug at his tummy and fuss. Then later, while lying on Josh's chest, he let it all out. On Josh. Three times, back to back. Josh was COVERED in puke. So that explains it! I was so sorry that I sent him to school that morning and made him be in a strange place, feeling so bad. :(

Into the bath, and back to bed he went. After being loved on a bunch, of course. So I called Montessori the next morning and told them that I would be keeping Bennett out for the next couple of days due to a stomach bug.

I have been so stressed out about this whole thing, not because Bennett has been sick, but because I just know the ladies at the school have to be frustrated. I know they don't want a sick child to be there, so they'd rather I keep him out, but my goodness, it's been a MONTH since they first started, and Bennett has only been there 5 days. All these other kids are probably completely adjusted and the classroom is finally peaceful and orderly, and here comes Bennett back, freaking out, because it's still a brand new thing for him.

Please don't get me wrong - I don't at all regret keeping Bennett out for a sickness, and of course I wouldn't trade the beach trip for anything. I'm just filling you in on my inner struggle the past few weeks. It's just always in the back of my mind that we are the family that is keeping everything from being hunky-dory. I am the mom that would keep her son home for a bug bite. Bennett is the child that is sick all the time. We are the ones that hold their child non-stop and create separation issues.

Again, I know those things aren't true. This is just what I worry is being thought amongst the teachers and other parents. Working in that environment before, I know there ARE those families, those moms, and those children. But we are not them! That's why it's so frustrating that it seems to be appearing that way! We're good, healthy people that want the best for their healthy child!

Go ahead, imagine smacking me in the face and saying, "Snap out of it, Marcie. You're thinking WAY too much about this and creating more drama than there actually is." I KNOW.


So Bennett stayed home Tuesday and Wednesday. Last night he was playing, laughing, dancing - being his normal Bennett self. So this morning we went back.

He fussed a little when he realized where we were, and I looked back and saw the tears welling up in his eyes. Heartbreaking. He cried a lot when I left him with the assistant, but I knew I just had to go. I met his teacher in the parking lot and was able to explain to her exactly what all had been going on, for the first time. I was able to express my disappointment in the way these first few weeks had gone, and she assured me that "we will get there, don't worry."

I felt so much better after talking to her. Today is his first day going from 9 to 3, rather than 9 to 12. She said she'd call me if she needed to, and that we might just have to ease into the 9 to 3 schedule. Take it one day at a time. She thought I might need to come get him after lunch today, and then maybe tomorrow they will try to let him nap there.

I called around 10:45 to check and see how he was doing, and they told me he was doing "wonderfully," and that he was playing with the other children and doing exactly what they were doing. She said that unless I hear from her, just plan to be there at 3.

WHEW!

What a relief! Maybe we're on our way to normalcy.

Thanks for letting me vent. :)

Montessori Update

I'm not writing much tonight; I'm tired... at 8:30. And I still have to clean up our supper mess.

But I did want to give you an update on Bennett's Montessori experience thus far. As I mentioned before, he went for orientation Thursday. It was great. He had a wonderful day, no fussing what-so-ever when I left him there or when I picked him up. Friday was his first actual day. Same thing. I walked him inside, and once he hit that classroom, off he went to play. No looking back. So, I turned around and happily walked out. When I picked him up that day, he fussed a little - because he didn't want to leave!

What a relief! I have the best little boy ever! He's the friendliest, most independent little guy!

We had a great weekend, getting to spend time with Pop and Gigi, since Pop came to help Josh with the back porch at "the green house," and Gigi decided to come with him and visit with Bennett and me.

Monday morning, back to the routine. We got up, ate our breakfast, got dressed and headed out. When we got to Montessori, I walked Bennett in and when he got to the classroom, the assistant led him over to where some other children were playing. I spoke with his teacher for just a bit before leaving. As I walked out the door, I looked back to see what Bennett was doing. BIG mistake. He happened to be looking at me that very moment, and he totally lost it. He started crying hysterically. I looked at his teacher and said, "Should I just go, or should I hang out a minute?" Well, I know the answer to that, having worked at Kids R Kids. LEAVE. Which is what she told me to do. So, I did. And I could hear him crying all the way to my car.

Boo. :(

It made me pretty sad. But it wasn't that bad, because, again, having been in the role of the teacher before, I know that as soon as the parents are gone, the children are fine. They get over it. So, I'm sure Bennett was over it in no time. When I picked him up that afternoon, he was happy to see me.

Tuesday morning, we pull into the parking lot. He whimpers a little bit when I stop the car. He's fine as I take him in, but as soon as his little feet hit the floor of that classroom, oh no. Hysterical. So, I picked him up and carried him over to a little train that was sitting in the floor. I tried to get him interested in that. He did calm down a little, but he continued with what Josh and I call his 'sup-'sups. You know, after a child has been crying for a while and they're trying to catch their breath and return to normal? Anyway, I eventually had to get up and leave, and again, I got to listen to him cry all the way to my car.

When I picked him up that day (on the playground again, just like every other day), instead of him spotting me and calling, "Mama!", he spotted me and started crying immediately. His teacher looked at me with a surprised look on her face. I said, "Has he had a bad day?" She said, "No! He's been fine all day!"

So this morning, the same thing. Only, it started in the car. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot, he looked over, realized where he was, and started bawling. Tears streaming down his face. Ugh, poor thing! I hate that!

I just hate that he's so confused about what's going on. That's all it is. He loves being there, I know. And I love, love, love the school and the teachers, and the other parents seem great (we haven't gotten to know anyone yet), so I'm completely comfortable with where he is and what we're doing. He's just so used to being at home with me all day long, every day. Pretty much getting to do whatever he wants to do (to an extent, of course.) And now, I'm feeding him breakfast and taking him to these strangers every day and not coming back for hours. And these strangers are telling him he has to sit in this circle with everyone else, and to top it off, he can't understand a word they're saying half the time!

His teacher told me that when she speaks Spanish, he just stares at her mouth, watching her lips. If I haven't mentioned already, almost all of the teachers there are hispanic, and they speak Spanish as much, if not more, than they do English. Which I LOVE.

Anyway, he was fine this afternoon when I got him. He was glad to see me, and he waved and told everyone "bye" over and over. I stopped and talked to one of the teachers that was there when I was there (over 26 years ago!), and he just jabbered and giggled the whole time.

So, we'll see how tomorrow goes. I know it will get better. It just takes time to get used to the routine. The routine he's going to get used to and then be taken out of it for an entire week to go to Florida, and then return to have the routine change, because he's then going to have to listen to those Spanish speaking women tell him where to sit and eat his lunch and what little mat to lie down on and go to sleep! What?!?

Oops.

Orientation

So this morning, Bennett and I headed to Montessori for "New Toddler Orientation" before their first actual day tomorrow. It was from 9 to 12, so we got there promptly at 9am. I was looking forward to seeing how Bennett would interact with the other children, and eager to meet some of the other parents.

When we walked in, Bennett immediately took off and started exploring. After speaking with the teacher for a little while, I realized I wasn't supposed to hang around. This was time for the students and teachers to get to know one another. So, after my confusion subsided, I headed back out the door without even telling Bennett goodbye. I just didn't even think about it. I was so comfortable with the environment he was in and he seemed to be just fine, so I just left. I'm glad I did, too. After working at Kids R Kids, I know how it can be when the parents want to hang around and cling to the kids.

So I hung out at Mama and Daddy's house until noon, since they live near the school. I know that wasn't the best use of my time, but I was still a little scattered feeling, not knowing that I was actually dropping him off today.

I pretty much just twiddled my thumbs (almost literally) until 12 o'clock rolled around. I was right on time to get him. His teacher said he did very well, and that at snack time he walked around the table taking a piece of everyone's snack, one at a time. Hmm... that's not exactly "very well." Guess we're going to have to work on that.

They were outside playing when I got there, so she went out onto the playground to bring the children inside, and I waited at the top of the stairs. I saw the assistant walking across the playground holding Bennett's hand on one side, and another little girl's on the other. He squinted as he looked up towards where I was, and after taking a few seconds to make me out, he said, with a big smile on his face, "ma-MA!" He sounded like a little Italian child. It about made me cry, but I held it together.

As we left, he just happily told everyone, "Bye!" and let me carry him out with no fuss. Got in the car, drove home, he laid his head on my shoulder as we walked inside and upstairs, washed his hands, read a book, and down he went. He was pooped.

What a big day for him!

And it's what the next two weeks will be like, then we're off to Florida for a week, and when we get back, he'll go to a full day there. Oh, how things are about to change.

Glory, Glory to Old Uga (Cake)!

Well, here he is! We had such fun putting him together and Uga-fying him! I printed a picture of Uga and was very careful to get the details right.


He got a studded black collar, and I even decided to include the Nike swoosh. I really wanted to make his little pendant too, but too little time. That might have been a little overboard.

Josh did his face, and even though it's super simple, I'm happy with it. Rather than try to make it look realistic and risk making a mess with black icing, we just decided to keep it simple. His eyes and nose are made out of gumpaste, and the mouth is just black icing. Josh really wanted to make a pink gumpaste tongue, but we decided to leave it alone.

His collar is black gumpaste with silver dragees. Dragees are those little silver things that look like bb's. They're made of sugar, so they're completely edible. I ate my fair share at Montessori when I was little. They had an activity in which you were supposed to spoon the dragees from one bowl to another. Who knows how often they had to refill that bowl. We all ate them.

The rest of him is vanilla flavored buttercream. Although the red probably didn't wind up tasting too much like vanilla. You wouldn't believe the amount of food coloring we had to put in that stuff to make it the right red! And it still probably could have been a little darker, but it was starting to mess with the consistency of the icing, so we said good enough.

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, the cake starts at the back of his head and goes all the way to his butt. There is a flat spot on the form that the cake sits on, and then we carved the cake to look like his actual back and bottom. Even his little tail is cake.

We have a boxwood that we clipped in order to get the "hedges" that he's standing on. Are the hedges at Georgia actually boxwood? I don't know, Google it.

Anyway, we were pretty proud of our boy. Anybody need an Uga cake for an event? We'd love to recreate him! I would be MORE than happy to make him for any of you Lovvorns! You know you love him! :)

Montessori School

Is today going to be a park day? I'm trying to decide. I think it's going to be beautiful, so I'd love to take Bennett. I'm hoping Josh will get home from work in time to go with us. He's been working pretty late lately, though. There have been some changes made in his job requirements that is putting a bit of a strain on him.

Another reason I hope he gets home at a decent hour is so he can visit Montessori with me. We want to start Bennett in the Montessori School of Douglasville in June. They allow children to start when they are 18 months old, and he will be 18 months on June 17th. Their summer program starts June 2nd, so I'm hoping they'll make an exception for him since it's only a matter of 15 days. I'm thinking we won't have a problem, since I am a former Montessori student. The owner, Mrs. Lupe, was the owner and one of our teachers when Jeff, Greg and I were there. She and a couple others are still there, but there are several new teachers. The school has expanded a good deal since 1980.

Montessori was such a wonderful experience for me. The classes were very small and the atmosphere was always very loving. Most of the teachers were Hispanic, so we learned a great deal of Spanish. I think the children learn even more there now.

I made an appointment to go observe last year when Bennett was only several weeks old. I think they thought I was crazy, starting to think about it so early, but I really want him to have that experience. I stay home with him right now because I'm not working. While I feel like home is a good and loving atmosphere for him, I feel like he is missing out on the interaction with other children. I think he would learn and grow much more quickly if he were surrounded by other children who are also learning and growing, and by teachers who are trained to stimulate their minds.

Our visit only further convinced me that this is where I want him to be. Let me first say that I worked at a Kids R Kids that my cousins opened a couple years ago. I was the lead teacher in the 12 -18 month classroom. I loved that place and I adored the kids. I'd take Bennett there if it were closer. Sandi (my cousin) owns the one in Mableton, and it's about a 30 minute drive from here. I wouldn't take him to any other Kids R Kids.

Montessori is more of a school than a daycare. Still, most of the teachers there are hispanic, and there is something about those ladies that is just mesmerizing. While Sandi's Kids R Kids is a great place, it is a fairly loud place. The kids have a great time there, but sometimes it's hard for the teachers to contain the overactive minds and bodies. At Montessori, it was like all the children had been doped up on something. Of course they hadn't, but they were just so very calmly walking around doing their own thing. A couple of children were sitting at a table eating a snack while another was wearing an apron and putting dishes in a bus tub. A couple others were in a corner reading books, and the teachers would very calmly and with the most soothing voice say, "Jackson, would you like to come read a book with us?" Or, "Sophie, let's clean up your area and come have your snack now." And every other sentence was in Spanish. Absolutely amazing.

I knew after being there for 2 minutes that Bennett would most definitely be a student there, no matter what it took. It's a fairly expensive school. I guess it's not much more than daycare, and maybe even less than some, but with me not working, it's a lot. But we are trying hard to find a way.

Anyway, Josh has heard me talk so much about it that he wants to visit and see for himself. I went ahead and filled out the application for the summer program, so if we visit I'll probably go ahead and give that to them to get Bennett a spot. I'm excited about him going, but it makes me sad to think that he won't be at home with me all day anymore. I'll miss him so much, I'm sure.