Grandparents Day Jack K5 Video

A LOT shaky,I already have my plan laid out for next year to film Duke, but sooooo proud of my little guy.  Going from just a few years ago being too shy to even be in front of the classroom parents to walking out on stage and participating! 


 

Journey's End

Friday was a happy day and a sad day all rolled into one. After 5 1/2 years we officially said goodbye to our friends and family at Odyssey Early School.

Our morning drop off was pretty uneventful except for Duke being very excited for his last day. He has been counting down on the calendar to it as well as his upcoming first day at Briarwood on the 15th. I was a bit teary on the drive out of the parking lot but in the same minute thankful we will be back to one location to stop each day. And let me pause to say I am not prone to being a highly emotionally person outwardly. More typical is for me to keep my feelings pretty close to my chest and make sure I'm keeping this "under control". Well, pickup was an entirely different matter.

As I typed our security code into the door keypad I remember thinking, "this is the last time I'll do this" and walking down the hall  it was, "take note of all you see so you can remember this someday" running through my mind. Then I walked into Duke's classroom and he came running up with a big posterboard his teachers and classmates had made to wish him goodbye followed by a book of drawings from his classmates to Duke wishing him well. That's when the first drops fell. Then Ms. Morgan and Ms. Missy handed me this...painted by Ms. Missy and given to us by all our teachers over the years to hang in the boys room...

And that pretty much sealed it. Free flowing water down my face from that point forward.


We started at Odyssey in December 2006. I was the newest of new mothers, with no extended family close and could not have made it without my daily sounding board of "Aunt" Kay Bodin who's feeding and sleeping advice was invaluable and who was as shocked as I was at the news we would have another Odyssey student enrolled so soon.  I'll be reminded of watching Jack on the video feed in Infant 2, playing by himself  across the room from the other babies whenever he recedes to his room at home from the chaos of a Saturday for some quiet play. And I will always have the photo of  him laying on the changing table in the Infant 4 the day Duke was born because of our sweet teachers Kelly, Ashley and Michelle who knew it would remind me of how little he was when he became a brother. 


My first connection in the mornings has been Cindy, who I grew to love to tease when occasionally she would need to call me and notify me of one of the kids boo-boos with an answer of my cell phone "If there isn't a bone or an ambulance involved, I'm good..." Of course, there were the calls that prompted a pickup, like the day Jack took a tumble on the playground and knocked his two front teeth pretty hard, resulting in some sleepless nights for Mommy.  And who I will always remember gave me just a bit of panic when I hadn't even left the building and heard over the intercom in PreK-B, "Send Sarah to T1 now!" and there was Duke with a visibly shaken teacher, calmly sitting on the changing table after a "head meet corner of table" incident that resulted in this, but none worse the wear.  


Or the epic worry created by some of my best parent friends during our transition from T4 to K3A when we realized the room had no changing table and at the ripe young age of 2 1/2 we would all be facing our first rounds of DOOM-DOOM-DOOM!  Potty Training - aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh! (And a not so much thank you to those 2nd time parents that sat quietly by at the time probably laughing under your breath at our naivety.)

And as they have grown and "daycare" moved more into "preschool" we had some good laughs and even better learning.


There are so many moments in the archives of this blog that capture our days at this wonderful school where we've made even more wonderful friends who have become part of our Birmingham family. 


So as we move forward to this next chapter, I know I can always spend time looking at the past with a smile and a warmth of heart that this first journey ended with success. 


Thank you to all of you who made it better than we ever could have imagined.

Kids Say the Darndest Things...

It's nearing the end of the school year at our daycare which means year end parties and collections of art projects handed over.

Yesterday was Jack's which is bittersweet because 2 weeks from today we will be off to "big school" starting our journey through education at Briarwood Chrisitan School in the 4K program. sniff.

Last night I sifted through the many glittered fish, pasted bunnies, handprint turkeys and construction paper wonders and came upon a section bound together of art pieces created by Jack with his descriptions of said pieces included. Items such as these fall into the PRICELESS ART GALLERY in my home. Here's a sampling of my two favorites.

The obsession continues.

See, even my 4 1/2 year old gets it...notice the resemblance to Yoda.

Thank you Ms. Catherine and Ms. Jodie for an amazing year and an amazing pack of memories that will be looked at many years from now with a smile!

Patriots

You know those times when you don't realize how much your kids are really learning and it blows you away?  I had one of those moments this weekend when I discovered that not just Jack but Duke knows the entire Pledge of Allegiance, by heart.  Jack has never in 4 years mentioned it or demonstrated it.  Something on Sunday on our way home from the park sparked an impromtu serenede from the back of the car and so I figured I'd share it.  Because it's the only way you can really appreciate the effort.



Was that "to the Republic for which it stands" or "to the real Publix"?  I can't quite tell.  But maybe we are going to the grocery store just a bit too much as a threesome lately.

And yes, that's me in the backround cracking up when I hear Duke's "shun shiny faces" I thought they were done with "justice for all". The rest was all new to me last night.

Sad Good-byes

Yesterday we had to say good-bye to Jack's two wonderful teachers - Amy (on the right) and Missy (on the left). Monday morning we move on to K3. I'm not usually one to tear up these days, I guess my brain has too many things going on to let that emotion filter in, but when I went to pick up Jack after school, the shimmery water appeared.




These two amazing women spent the past 6 months with Jack 5 days a week. They have been a part of the fabric of our lives during this amazing time for Jack - the 2's. It's a time when he's gone from speaking single words to spouting off sentences. From giving way to whatever emotion takes over him that second, to showing empathy for his friends, taking turns and sharing. When I ask him what he did that day at school I actually get answers, "play pegs", "play legos", "play animal game" or songs "Hello, How Are You!", "Little Bunny Fru Fru hoppin thru the forest..." with hand gestures and all. Because of them he can sing the entire Alphabet Song and can count to 20 without help. They are the reason that when I showed him the picture of the open hand on the block he said "Five!" instead of "Hand!" He's even gone from having a meltdown the second I start to move toward the door to leave and go to work, to waking up excited to see "Amy-teacher" and his "Missy".

Maybe it was because Amy is so utterly familiar with what raising a 2 year old is like, since her little boy Nate will turn 3 himself this spring, that the kid's obeyed her so well. Or maybe Missy being fresh out of school and her energetic spirit for what she feels is her life calling is what these toddlers picked up on and ran with in their never ending, latest and greatest achievements. Whatever it was, it worked.


Over this time, I listened and prayed as Amy shared her worries over her mother's breast cancer diagnosis and treatment which very nearly lead to her leaving Odyssey to move back home to be with her family. Thankfully, God saw to it to take care of her mother and allow for miraculous healing so Amy could stay here. I giggled with Missy as she shared the latest in her boyfriend dilemma, stay with the old or start with the new (we all think she made the right choice in moving ahead) and loved hearing how much she is enjoying this new relationship. And the two of them laughed as the latest craziness set in our household.


Each day I looked forward to picking up Jack and hearing the latest of what he'd done, things he'd said or goofy trick he's attempted. I'll never forget the day they tried putting him in time-out, and I stress the "tried" because as they found out, time-out for Jack gets you nowhere other than watching him stretch the limits of the punishment. And I felt a hint of motherly pride, which is totally unlike my personality, that Jack was the first in his class to say his ABC's all the way through without missing a letter, knowing it was probably the only time he'd pass up his buddies Madison and Payton in any milestone. :) And although we made a valiant attempt to capture a picture on this last day, my little man rarely cooperates when Mommy is there and it's time to go, especially when snack is MnM trail mix, as further evidenced by our attempt at a class picture at Halloween.



I know that we will experience many special teachers over the years of daycare and school, but I think for us, teachers like Amy and Missy as a pair are a rare combination. They enjoy our kids as much as we do and delight in seeing them grow and develop. Because of our unique situation of being in Birmingham without any immediate family, we feel blessed to have teachers like these two, that become a permanent part of our "Alabama family". I know we will still see Amy and her little man Nate many Sunday's at our church. And in less than a year I know Duke will find himself in their very same room, going through the same loving experience that Jack just finished.

Either way, until we get settled into our new room with new teachers and new experiences, for now, Monday just won't feel the same.

Thanks girls - the Rath's love you!!

Just When you Think You Have it Figured Out

I will fess up, one of the issues keeping me from this blog (aside from 2 sick kids, a sick Mommy and Daddy on the road) was my shock last week when I received a note from the daycare that Jack, along with most of his current Toddler class, would be moving up to a K3 classroom. And I wasn't the only one, let me just say, this news unleashed the Odyssey Mommy Girls Club to a new level.

By Tuesday morning, there were no less than 15 e-mails flying around and several phone conferences with and the Assistant Director, along with firm plans for 9 of us to meet for lunch on Thursday to discuss the "transition" as they gently call it. It's more along the lines of "leave the room and teachers you've been bonding with for the past 6 months after you are now having fewer days peeling your child off of you and coaxing him to wave through the window as you walk away quickly each morning on the Friday at the end of this month and enter a new room and new teachers bright and happy and start the bonding process all over again the next Monday morning". Needless to say, I was not thrilled at this prospect.

On top of it, the entire class is not moving together into one K3 room, they are being split into two. One plus, Jack will stay with the majority of his classmates and friends (just 3 of the 13 will move into the second room), but on the down side (and this is a big one in my opinion) he will be merged with 12 other kids (who are all older than him, some up to a year) to form a room of 22 kids, with 3 teachers.

I did not take the news of this as lightly as I have in the past for several reasons. First, the last time the OMGC got together was because of the last transition...they were moved last June and then we got notice they were moving yet again in August. Nothing like hopping, skipping and jumping your way through the center. At that time we were told they would be in the current room until this next August, and we were thrilled. Finally some time to really concentrate on goals and maybe even potty training can be a nice, consistent process to start near the end of the year. Not so much apparently. Second, we are having a few "discipline" issues at home, nothing serious, but enough that I've had to shift my punishment and reward process some and it's taking some serious creativity on my part for the first time. Thankfully, I have had Amy and Missy, Jack's current teachers to bounce ideas and feedback off of for what seems to work for them (even though he is an Angel at school for them). Soon I will have new teachers that will inevitably need some time to catch on to the little stinker's smarts. Third, we are just starting the potty process and it's been going pretty well so far, but I fear that the gains we've made may take a big leap backwards. However, I leave the option open for being wrong on that one (and hope I am!). Fourth, K3 in the Odyssey program is really the start of the journey to Kindergarten, out of the Toddler rooms and into the Pre-K drive. Is he really old enough, mature enough, emotionally and cognitively for that? Really? Fifth, there are only three class levels folllowing the one he is currently in, from here it's K3, K4 and then Pre-K...this move for some parents based on school year cut off could potentially mean they need to split the next 4 years in just three classroom levels.

Finally, any changes in our life in January or February usually are not timed well as it is already the time of year Cory is most on the road. So having this additional change will probably incite it's own share of battles and meltdowns for no apparent reason than things are not as they always have been (or have been for the past six months). I've come to that conclusion upon realizing through conversations with other mothers that in our life, other than his father, his brother and myself, his teachers and friends at Odyssey are really the only real "family" that Jack is familiar with on a daily basis. With us living out as far as we do from Birmingham, our weekends are usually spent at the house and not many of our friends from our life prior to kids make the 45min-1 hour drive out to visit. Of course, there is church on Sundays, but with the 45 min drive there, it's not like there is much time to socialize before or after since naps are due shortly upon the end of the service and we can't quite get out of the house in time to make it to the 8am (well, we could, but that would necessitate a sixth day of the kids eating breakfast in the car during the week and I just won't do it). And there are so many children in the nursery, depending on when we check in, there are two room possibilities and numerous children that might or might not be there that day.

So long story made longer...I had quite the decision to make. Let Jack move up to the K3 room and face what may come, or hold him back in his current room and away from the majority of his friends. My 45 minute discussion with the AD consisted of stressing to her my expectations that would come if I decided to allow the transition to go through, including the K3 room goals being updated to reflect the items the kids did not meet in their current room, my opinion that these moves are necessitated not by the development of the kids but by a need by the center for increased income in this economy and therefore increased enrollment at the younger (higher $) levels which result in moving the kids above them early (which she denied) and how I felt they needed to take a better look at their enrollment policy as well as have a better overall plan for the movement of the kids from the moment they are enrolled. Finally I shared that I expected there would always be 3 teachers in the room regardless of what emergencies arose elsewhere in the center (even though she kept referring to the room as an 11:1 ratio regardless of the fact that Jack falls into the under 36 mo group along with the 10 others that are moving up and DHR rules require 8:1 at a max at his age and I am certain my tuition will not be adjusted down until he officially turns 3).

After our discussion and overnight consideration of all the pro's and con's for Jack, I made the decision to allow the move to go through.

At lunch on Thursday, I was thankful for the 8 other moms that I was able to share my fears and concerns with. I was also thankful to hear their dilemmas and feel that mine were valid and even help some of the others in their consideration of what to do for their children. I was most thankful knowing that Jack has at least 4 of these 8 women who will have children in his room and therefore will be 4 extra sets of eyes (actually 5 if you count Payton's grandmother in Virginia Beach who is GLUED to the system daily) watching on the video monitor as well as giving him their love when they are in the room, just as I do for their kids. I will be sad that Sammy Dunkin will be apart from them for the next months since his mom has opted to hold him back, but hopeful he will rejoin us in August. I am overjoyed that they considered the closeness that Jack, Madison and Payton have shared since their first days at Odyssey and that the are moving them together to the same room.

And although I feel I have made the right decision; Jack will remain with his friends, he will fall age-wise, right in the middle of the class, we have really just started discussing the potty and aren't too far into it that a setback would destroy anything already established, and most importantly in my mind-he really only has 2 1/2 years left at Odyssey so he will not stay in any one classroom level for any inordinate amount of time while here (he is enrolled in 4K at Briarwood Christian School for 2011), it does not come without reservation. I don't think any decisions you make as a parent really do (other than maybe diaper changes!). However, God must have realized my concern today and decided to give me a just a little sign that this was the right one for Jack.

Tonight, while I was stacking some blocks with Duke so he could knock them all down, a trick he LOVES, I decided to make it a little game that Jack might be interested in as well. (Brother bonding, taking turns, and sharing is big on my radar right now.) These blocks are soft and each side has a picture of something, a cow, a ladybug, a sun, etc. so as I stacked, I asked Jack what each one was. I know he knows most every one, but still, it was fun and I like to actually hear him tell me just how much he knows. I guess it's satisfaction for me that even though I have had to split my time between the two of them for more than a year now he's developing on track (another issue I need to get over - they really know nothing different and I certainly don't need to coddle Jack or else I may have a spoiled one on my hands!)

So, as I'm running through the penguin, the moon, the elephant, this one comes up

and Jack doesn't even pause when he yells out "FIVE!"

Now me, I would have said Hand, but I'm not moving to K3 either.

Guess we are headed in the right direction after all.

Just a Warning!

I know, I know you all have kids and have gone through it...but, I'm sending out an early warning since we are headed to both Tennessee for Thanksgiving and Wisconsin for Christmas...we have entered the Terrible Two's.

We love Jack, we just don't love the being that occaissionally overcomes our sweet, tenderhearted child. And lately, that being has been making an appearance on a more regular basis.

We have stepped up the discipline, and although we feel we have been consistent in our parenting "techniques" and he has been getting the "benefit" of regular time-outs in his chair in his room (and in the hallway at daycare among other places), we still have some learning going on - both on his part and ours as we muddle through the method. He reacts quite well when told he must calm himself down before he can come out. And although he always ends his fits with, "All done crying, I sorry", which is quite endearing, we are both slowly learning this "baby" is a lot smarter than what we have been giving him credit for.

However, do not be dissuaded. He is definitely a toddler, and a stubborn one at that. He can still drive us both to the edge of our nerves and we are not perfect parents. So please be prepared for some awkward moments as we all get together over these next few months. We are figuring out day by day what works to quell the fits, but each day brings a new challenge.

Today for instance, his teacher shared that he would not sit in his chair when directed to do so for lunch. Nothing new for him, he just didn't want to. So, after a few attempts to get him to respond, he was put in time out, sitting in a chair facing a wall. And, true to form, he began to kick the wall. His teacher told him to stop, he did not, she told him a second time, he did not. She moved him further from the wall so he could not kick it. He pointed his toes as far as he could toward the wall and looked straight at her and smiled. Reminded me to share with his teacher that at 15 mos, when his teachers told him to "stay on the carpet" (a common instruction for the kids to remain in a certain play area in the room), he would walk right up, his toes just touching the end of the carpet/start of the linoleum, look up at them and smile as if saying "C'mon, say it again and I'm gone!" Let me just say, he does not get this from his mother.

And for the final blow for me today, with Daddy on a trip since Monday and after a few long nights with Duke up with a cold and ear infection, he decided that he could not walk out of daycare but rather must throw himself on the ground and scream to be carried. Needless to say, since I cannot possibly carry both children at one time, and there is only one me and I cannot very well leave one child in the car to go back and get another or some parent would probably call Child Protective Services on me, I had to figure out how to coax him from a flailing, kicking, screaming fit out of the building and into the car.

After 30 minutes of ignoring, walking away, and other such attempts, I was finally rescued by one of the staff who offered to take Duke with her to the front desk while I calmly (but wanting to pop him like you wouldn't believe!) picked up Jack, buckled him in his seat in the car, gave a quick recap on why he would not be watching any DVD on the way home as he screamed now for Elmo, and went back, got Duke and drove the lovely rest of the 45 minutes home. Suprisingly, he whined for Elmo for only another 5 minutes before he got the point, it wasn't going to work. And then, an angel the rest of the night. Hmmmm...consistency works, it's just not working fast enough for me and Daddy!

So, consider yourself forewarned.

You can stop laughing now.

(And trust us, a popping will happen eventually, we just can't see how he would make the connection quite yet :P)

See you all soon.

Hooray for the Teachers at Odyssey!

As most of you know, I work full time, so Jack and Duke are enrolled at a day school called Odyssey Early School. Jack absolutely loves it, stomps his feet at our back door in the morning as soon as we tell him it's time to leave for school. Duke of course is a bit young to know the difference, but he loves "Aunt Kay" who cares for him and was a favorite of big brother Jack last year. I can't say enough about how wonderful our experience has been at Odyssey and how special the teachers have made my kids feel.

So this year, when the annual school fundraiser for Camp Smile A Mile (a summer camp for toddlers to teens facing a diagnosis of cancer) came around I figured we would do a small donation toward the "egg hunt"...basically for a $5 donation, you "buy" an egg for the kids to hunt. I wasn't going to ask family and friends to contribute, I mean come on...Jack's only 19 mos. and I'm not starting to ask for money for school stuff already!

Well that changed when I found out the teachers in each room would be creating an art project on a 24x36 canvas based on a children's book. These would be auctioned with the proceeds going to Camp SAM. Duke's teachers, Christi, Kay and Janelle, came up with a lovely and painstakingly accurage reproduction of "Brown Bear Brown Bear" and included the footprints of each child in the room. It is one of Jack's favorites, especially PURPLE CAT!, DUCK-DUCK-DUCK! and Goldfish, which thanks to Grandma Ruth now sends him running to the pantry signing his ASL sign for eat (but it is cute so don't worry Grandma!) So of course, I had to place a big on their piece.

Then I see the amazing painting that Kelly and Michelle, Jack's teachers, created. It was based on a book that we do not yet have, but that Kay and Christi had mentioned to me last year when Jack was having trouble with me leaving in the mornings, "The Kissing Hand", by Audry Penn. It's the story of Chester Raccoon who wants to stay home with his mommy and the fears he has of going to school. To help ease his fears she shares a family secret to give him the reassurance of her love anytime his world feels a little scary. Kelly and Michelle did an amazing job on their piece, they used the kids' hands for the tree leaves and it even matches Jack's room decor with the fallish colors. But the real clincher was the quote they included,

"mommy loves you,

mommy loves you,

and that very kiss will

jump to your face and fill

you with toasty

warm thoughts."

Needless to say, I won both of my bids. So we have new wall art for the kid's rooms and you are safe from any future fundraiser requests this year, we've done our part for 2008!