Shawn and I took Raj to The Goddard School in Bloomingdale to tour their preschool program. Raj was hoping to enroll Shawn in a Montessori program, but the only accredited school in the area is +45 minutes away. Goddard is slightly more than 5 minutes down the street! Shawn and I had toured the school earlier this summer, but I wanted Raj to see it for himself before making a decision.
Shelley kept Abby home so they could spend the day together while we visited Goddard. It was a quick tour before Raj had to get to work, but we were pleased with what we saw. They have a lot of child lead learning opportunities, but still have specific lesson plans that the teachers work from. I like the guidance and structure of the lessons that Montessori was missing. Unfortunately, their outdoor play area is small and lacks almost everything that Richard Louv would hope for. The location of the school doesn’t help, seeing that it’s practically in the parking lot of a shopping mall, but still, it leaves a lot to be desired. I’ll just have to counteract Nature-Deficit Disorder after school hours! The rest of the school was much more promising: students’ work was prominently featured all over the small building, there are brightly painted murals in the hallways, the classes focus on various learning themes for a few weeks at a time (they’re finishing a summer theme ‘Passport Around the World’) to guide their lessons, lesson plans are posted outside of each classroom, lunch is provided (and breakfast, too, if the child is there early enough)… We’re planning on doing a half day program (8:30 am - 12:30 pm) on Tuesdays and Thursday starting September 4, 2012.
Is this really happening?? (sigh!)
After saying goodbye to Raj, Shawn and I picked up a few groceries at Meijer on the way home. Then, we made a fast trek around the Schaumburg Farmers’ Market for our essential crepe, some fruits that Shawn hand-picked, and some meat for grilling. We tossed our goodies into a cooler and headed to Gymboree.
Melissa and Blake met us there for a free trial of Family Music class. Again, the theme was Hawaiian music, but it was fun showing our friends the ropes. Blake was much more interested in getting out to the gym area rather than playing music, but he did very well for a first timer. He was thrilled when he finally got to explore the gym equipment after class. Melissa might actually register Blake for classes after all! We were just using it as an opportunity for a playdate, but they had so much fun that they might come back officially. (That works too, since we’d both benefit from a referral bonus.)
Though Melissa and Blake weren’t able to join us after class, Shawn and I went out to lunch to ‘the chicken restaurant’ (otherwise known as Chicks ‘n Salsa). Then it was time to go home and Shawn fell asleep in the car. He napped for a few hours – much more than I had anticipated.
It’ll be a late night tonight.
Showing posts with label Melissa/Tom/Blake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Melissa/Tom/Blake. Show all posts
Friday, August 3, 2012
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Easter Egg Hunt at Loretto Convent
We slept in until 9:30 today - WOW! When we did wake up, we couldn’t believe how warm and bright it was already. Raj had the wonderful idea to go out for breakfast, so after quickly getting dressed, we headed to The Brunch Café for… brunch. It’s the first time we’ve been able to get in because our other attempts have required an hour (plus) long wait for a table. Though it seemed pretty busy this morning, we only had to wait for fifteen minutes. Our food was fantastic. Raj had stuffed potato pancakes with a side of sausage. Shawn had a bowl of mixed berries (can’t go wrong there!), a bowl of Fruity Pebbles, and bites from our plates. And, I had a huge Mediterranean omelet with feta, spinach, and sundried tomatoes, with a side of pancakes. Everything was delicious. We will definitely be going back… next time we get out in time for brunch!
It was an absolutely gorgeous day today. It was a perfect day to be outside at the Easter Egg hunt at the convent where Mona works. (Although, it turned out Mona had a family emergency and wasn’t going to be there this year.) Actually, it was even a little warm - the thermometer in my car read 86 F!
In the basement of the convent were two rooms set up for the festivities. One room had various prizes for a silent auction as well as dozens of gift baskets for raffles. There was also a table of pizza and salad and cookies, but most of that was already gone by the time we got there – it’s a good thing we ate a big breakfast! Down the hall was a room of activities for children. A series of Easter themed games wound around the room (putt-putt, buckets, ring toss, dig for prizes, etc.) and the Easter Bunny was set up in a corner for pictures. Shawn was a pretty reluctant about going near the Easter Bunny. Each time we reached for his hand to encourage him to move closer, he’d duck out of the way. So, Raj held him and they took the picture together.
Outside, the children lined up by age groups so the youngest ones could have a few moments of a head start so they wouldn’t be trampled by the bigger kids. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of plastic Easter eggs scattered across the yard of the convent. The plastic eggs had candy inside, so of all the chocolate ones had turned to mush after baking in the sun for an hour or so before the hunt started. Any attempt to handle them just resulted in the chocolate seeping out of the wrappers. Though I suggested putting them in our fridge, Raj didn’t think they’d make it all of the way home without turning to puddles in the car first, so all we brought home were a couple of lifesavers and Tootsie Rolls. I was disappointed to see the chocolate wasted, but it’s probably for the best.
A little girl, who looked not quite a year old, lost interest in collecting the Easter Eggs when she found a mud puddle created by an old tire track to be much more exciting. Taking no notice of her mom in the distance making desperate pleas for her to stop, she ran right to the juicy puddle and kicked her feet about making fantastic, brown, sludgy splashes all over her brand new Easter dress. In her puddle splashing merriment, she lost her balance and toppled over, landing with a great splosh! in the middle of the puddle, covering any remaining inch of her Easter dress with brown goop. The little girl’s mom was completely frozen with dismay, while she giggled with delight in her glorious mud bath. Seeing her mom virtually distraught, all I could offer her was a partial pack of wipes that I had in my purse. I wanted to get her a towel and some clean clothes for her daughter to change into, but my well stocked purse wasn’t quite that accommodating.
After the East festivities at the convent, Shawn napped in the car on our way to Melissa, Tom, and Blake’s house for dinner and a playdate. We hardly ever see each other since I’m not at Blackhawk anymore, but we’re trying hard to get together when we can. (It doesn’t help that we live 30-45 minutes away from each other now either!) Shawn had a great time playing with Blake – and his toys. Raj and I had a great time catching up with Melissa and Tom. And, dinner was delicious. Sure wish we could do it more often!
At bed time, Shawn and I traded places and he "read" me one of his favorites stories, Happy Man and His Dump Truck. Obviously, he was just looking at the pictures and remembering a few key phrases, but he even read some of it with the same expression that I do. It was really cute. I’m hoping to catch it on video sometime!
It was an absolutely gorgeous day today. It was a perfect day to be outside at the Easter Egg hunt at the convent where Mona works. (Although, it turned out Mona had a family emergency and wasn’t going to be there this year.) Actually, it was even a little warm - the thermometer in my car read 86 F!
In the basement of the convent were two rooms set up for the festivities. One room had various prizes for a silent auction as well as dozens of gift baskets for raffles. There was also a table of pizza and salad and cookies, but most of that was already gone by the time we got there – it’s a good thing we ate a big breakfast! Down the hall was a room of activities for children. A series of Easter themed games wound around the room (putt-putt, buckets, ring toss, dig for prizes, etc.) and the Easter Bunny was set up in a corner for pictures. Shawn was a pretty reluctant about going near the Easter Bunny. Each time we reached for his hand to encourage him to move closer, he’d duck out of the way. So, Raj held him and they took the picture together.
Outside, the children lined up by age groups so the youngest ones could have a few moments of a head start so they wouldn’t be trampled by the bigger kids. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of plastic Easter eggs scattered across the yard of the convent. The plastic eggs had candy inside, so of all the chocolate ones had turned to mush after baking in the sun for an hour or so before the hunt started. Any attempt to handle them just resulted in the chocolate seeping out of the wrappers. Though I suggested putting them in our fridge, Raj didn’t think they’d make it all of the way home without turning to puddles in the car first, so all we brought home were a couple of lifesavers and Tootsie Rolls. I was disappointed to see the chocolate wasted, but it’s probably for the best.
A little girl, who looked not quite a year old, lost interest in collecting the Easter Eggs when she found a mud puddle created by an old tire track to be much more exciting. Taking no notice of her mom in the distance making desperate pleas for her to stop, she ran right to the juicy puddle and kicked her feet about making fantastic, brown, sludgy splashes all over her brand new Easter dress. In her puddle splashing merriment, she lost her balance and toppled over, landing with a great splosh! in the middle of the puddle, covering any remaining inch of her Easter dress with brown goop. The little girl’s mom was completely frozen with dismay, while she giggled with delight in her glorious mud bath. Seeing her mom virtually distraught, all I could offer her was a partial pack of wipes that I had in my purse. I wanted to get her a towel and some clean clothes for her daughter to change into, but my well stocked purse wasn’t quite that accommodating.
After the East festivities at the convent, Shawn napped in the car on our way to Melissa, Tom, and Blake’s house for dinner and a playdate. We hardly ever see each other since I’m not at Blackhawk anymore, but we’re trying hard to get together when we can. (It doesn’t help that we live 30-45 minutes away from each other now either!) Shawn had a great time playing with Blake – and his toys. Raj and I had a great time catching up with Melissa and Tom. And, dinner was delicious. Sure wish we could do it more often!
At bed time, Shawn and I traded places and he "read" me one of his favorites stories, Happy Man and His Dump Truck. Obviously, he was just looking at the pictures and remembering a few key phrases, but he even read some of it with the same expression that I do. It was really cute. I’m hoping to catch it on video sometime!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)