the first day

Yesterday I made it through my first full day as a student. I spent much of my time working with the pink tower. I commented to my mom that Montessori is lonely. My previous program was play-based and, because I was the most popular student in the class, everything revolved around me. At Montessori, the materials for my stage of development are designed to be worked with by one child at a time. The collaborative work will be introduced later. 

We had crackers and organic pears for snack (but I skipped the pears) but I ate 11 crackers. One child, NOT ME, dropped a plate and it broke. 

I put my shoes on all by myself when it was time to go home. You might notice in the photo that I have them on the wrong feet. That doesn't matter though. 

I made careful note of what indoor shoes all of the other children have. Isabella wears pink shoes that have a slight squeak when she takes a step. January wears green shoes and wore a green shirt. No kids have blue shoes. My sister would have made a note of these important details too.  

Below is a photo of me getting lined up for departure. As soon as I got into the car, I said to my mom,  "ask me if I want to go to Starbucks." We all know the answer to that question and, sadly, I was deprived of a trip to Starbucks. We do, however, have a date for Friday. Since I am only supposed to have sweets twice a week, I need to plan my indulgences carefully. 

Instead of Starbucks, we came home and had organic fruit smoothies. I am obsessed with straws this week.

And then I snored for the next four hours. I ate three sandwiches when I woke up.

Adjusting to the new routine is exhausting. My mom started steaming spinach for my scrambled eggs (delicious, by the way) at 5:30am. And the traffic is worse than dreadful.

my favorite life

Today I enjoyed the last playdate of the summer with my St Michael's friends. Last week was supposed to be our final visit but we opted to squeeze just one more in. We met in the same lovely Westlake park where we had our first playdate of the summer. Over the past few months, we have grown from classmates into the best of friends. Mid-morning, I declared "this is my favorite life."

We stayed to play for several hours until I had to go home to bathe and get ready for my third and final Montessori orientation.

When we arrived at the Montessori school, Elizabeth was sitting outside waiting for me. I told her the story of my dad's fall and how he tore a ligament as though it had just happened yesterday. This is a story I can tell for years! I thoroughly enjoy the sympathy I rightfully get (nevermind my dad). This detailed sob story charmed Elizabeth. Not many toddlers can speak in such detail about broken bones, torn ligaments, and the surgical procedures needed to repair them.

My dream came true today. I learned how to work with the pink tower. Then Elizabeth decided that I could start school tomorrow instead of waiting until Wednesday. (Three children start per day and there are only ten of us in the class and two are vacationing in India.) I am excited about this but we had planned to use tomorrow as a practice to see how long it would take to get ready in the morning. According to the policies, I need to eat a full high-protein breakfast before school. I normally like to be awake for a while before I eat my breakfast (but I have water and a light snack before my meal) so this is all going to take some adjusting. And my mom needs to get her sleep schedule on track. Big changes!

We have our alarm set for hours before dawn so we can get out of the house in time to sit in traffic at the Y for hours. (And by the Y I don't mean the YMCA . . . I mean the dreaded Y at Oak Hill. Worst traffic ever.)

weekend chores

Perhaps I have been influenced by the very short time I have spent in the Montessori classroom already but, boy, did I ever have the urge to work on Saturday morning. I scrubbed the outside of the oven, dishwasher, and fridge.  I wiped the inside of the fridge. I carried the clean laundry into the bedroom. I swept up the bits of dogfood Remus has scattered about. I wiped the window sills in the kitchen. And then I stepped outside and washed the back window.

Next project: washing the baseboards.

orientation, day two

Today I had my second visit at my school. The goal of today's visit was to practice the arrival and departure procedures and to work with two of the materials. My mom waited in the car in front of my class (as instructed) so that I could feel confident that I wasn't just being left behind (not that I would have cared, really). I also took my indoor shoes (brand new red Tom's) and I was later quite upset that I had to leave them behind.

I was confident when Elizabeth greeted me today. And I was in a much better mood. My mom was unsure how I would fare considering some of my morning shenanigans. First, I pulled my dad's sugar dispenser off the counter and "drank" from it. Shortly after, I stripped naked and intentionally peed on the kitchen floor. There was more but those were certainly the highlights of our morning. I am acting a bit odd because I have just realized that I won't be classmates with my dear friend Lela anymore. I love her and we have had such a fun summer.

Elizabeth showed me how to work with the cylinder blocks and the spooning. On Monday, at my final orientation session, I will learn how to work with more of the materials. I am hoping that I can get my hands on the pink tower; I am so fascinated by it. Wednesday is my first real day of school.

I fell asleep on the way home from orientation. And I slept and slept and slept all afternoon. School is exhausting.

orientation

Today I began my orientation process at my new school. My mom has been deeply engaged in her orientation for almost a week with meetings, reading (the handbook is 170 pages), gathering supplies, and slowly trying to introduce some new procedures into my life. My dad has been working working working. Below is a photo of me after my bath (I even flossed my teeth because I so detest plaque buildup) and when I should have been walking toward the car instead of teetering on the verge of getting dirty. 

Pay no attention to how terrible my yard looks. This particular patch of "grass" has been a victim of the severe drought and my shovels. I am still on a mission to dig up my entire yard. It is a huge undertaking but it makes me happy and keeps me occupied (and then tired). 

My visit to the school went well . . . except I was rather sleepy. I had dropped my naps last week but have needed them some days. I am trying to be horribly unpredictable mostly so I can torment those around me. Today would have been an ideal day for a nap but my mom forced me to stay awake and I was miserable. We know that I will naturally fall into some kind of regular sleep schedule once school begins. In the meantime, my mom just needs to know if she can stay up until 3:00am because she will get a nap with me the next day!

We arrived at my school a few minutes early. We were instructed to wait in our car in the arrival lane. It was the most grueling five minutes of my life. Luckily, there were some birds frolicking about and I was certain that they were calling my Guide, Elizabeth. At long last, Elizabeth bounded out and greeted me. After I made it through the platitudes, I asked her "do you have any trains or cars" and the answer, of course, was no. But it did open up a conversation about whether I have ridden a train (yes, several times!). She likes trains too. The classroom is lovely. What is this? How does this work? What do you do with this? Can I try this? I was most interested in the color tablets.

I made it very clear that I do not like chairs but I told her I do like tables. In that setting, it becomes apparent just how big my personality is. Tomorrow I will return by myself for 30 minutes (GULP) and learn how to work with some of the materials. The visit will be earlier in the day so I should be less toddlerish.

I was supposed to call my grandmother after orientation to tell her how great my school is. But the day cooled off to a pleasant 90 degrees so we had to play outside for hours. I ran. I dug. We played ball. I rode in my swing. I climbed. My dog barked. It was almost as though we have not played outside ever. We love this time of year when the end is finally in sight.

before and after

Early this week, we received my orientation package from my new school. In addition to my whirlwind social life, I have started preparing for school. I have a new sleep schedule to which I am adapting and it has not been easy for anyone. I am not napping now but I go to bed early . . . sometimes as early as 6:00pm. I start to fall apart around 4:00pm so my mom has moved my dinner to mid-afternoon so I have lots of healthy food in my tummy to make it through the night. This all means that 1) I sometimes don't see my dad in the evening and 2) my mom goes to bed when I do but wakes up for the day at 1:00am. Quitting the nap was my (BAD) idea but I will need to be well rested for a rigorous academic schedule. According to my school's policies, I must get at least 11 hours of sleep at night. And only have sweets twice a week . . . and definitely not before school. 

Before school starts, I have supplies to gather. I need an entire new wardrobe to fall into line with the dress code. And I desperately needed a haircut. Here is my golden mop of hair that I sported until this morning. 

And here is me afterward. The best part of getting my hair cut, other than looking so handsome, is playing with the toys at the barbershop. I arrive early and stay late. I learned today that I have the same barber as Lance Armstrong's kids.

More about school: my mom went to a meeting tonight to visit my classroom (it's beautifully bright and airy and there is a drinking glass with my name handwritten on it!) and meet my new teachers (well-versed in a variety of educational philosophies). I visit my school three times next week and then I start on August 29. I am so ready.

ER

This morning, we set out to enjoy story time at the Laura Bush library. A freak accident required a trip to the ER. 

After stories, songs, and crafts, we visited the room with the big blocks. I met some sweet girls and we built houses and forts. After we ceremoniously knocked down one construction, I was walking toward the bigger girl to ask her to help me rebuild it. I fell and bashed my head into the vertical divider underneath the bench she was sitting on. Blood sprayed everywhere. The girls' mom went to fetch me some ice - in the form of a delicious popsicle! The librarian also came to assist and to fill out an incident report. We called the doctor and we were told to go to the ER because of the possibility of a broken nose. (It's not.)

This is a photo of me in the ER. I told my tragic story repeatedly with perfect accuracy to a series of nurses and doctors. I followed their directions and let them look up my nose and in my eyes and check me for a concussion. I don't seem to have one but I am on bedrest today to prevent further bleeding and I cannot nap (ugh, I am sleepy!). I did not squirm during a series of x-rays. I suppose the doctors and nurses liked me best of all because I wanted to know how does this work, how does that work, and what is this, and can you show me what that does. I could be a doctor.

Best of all, they asked me if I wanted to watch cartoons. No, I wanted to see the races because I had caught a glimpse of them in the waiting room. And I was able to catch history in the making as Saudi Arabia had a woman competing in the 800m.

My dad is going to bring me home some popsicles.

hungry like a bear

We had yet another busy day as we inch toward the end of the summer. I am so ready for school to start. 

In the morning, we met my friends at the science center. (No, this bear is not one of my friends from school.) I have to wonder why I had never been there before; my dad is a self-proclaimed lover of all things science. And now I have somewhere new to take him! Luckily, it was a lovely cool (90 degrees) morning so I got some much-needed "fresh" air as I visited the (real) animals and played in the dino pit.  

In the evening, we went out for pizza.

You see, I have been rather bent out of shape since last Thursday. My mom had a lunch date with a friend and had leftover pizza. Not just any pizza but the greatest pizza in the world topped with green olives and onions. It was left in my dad's fridge at work for safekeeping since we had errands and he was supposed to bring it home that evening. It was all I could talk about all that afternoon. He forgot. I cried. And cried. I tried, in vain, to send him back to work to fetch it for me. Same thing on Friday. Really, my desire for pizza has consumed me.

This is a photo of me at the pizza shop cheering for the Olympic divers. (Yes, the tv ban was tossed aside during dinner simply because every wall in the restaurant is covered in televisions.) I was mostly worried about the divers afterward and whether or not they felt sad. Go Canada!

Tomorrow I start swim lessons again. I have decided that I would rather be a diver.

bush

This week, at the urging of my girlfriend, we made our first trip to story time at the Laura Bush library. Though you would never guess by looking at this photo, this was the grouchiest day of my life. I resisted going to story time but my mom knew better than to stay home with a fierce toddler. I fussed all the way there. When we arrived (late), I flopped down face first in the middle of the circle and tried to drum up some sympathy. Once I warmed up, I had a fantastic time. The stories were great. We sang songs. We did crafts and I participated eagerly even though I am not the artsy kind. We stayed at the library for a good long time afterward and read at least 100 books. We noted that this library has the finest collection of kids' books. And they are categorized according to topic. I told my mom I wanted to read about trucks (just for something new), and there they all were! easy. didn't even have to search through the card catalogue. After we read and read some more, we visited the family center; it is well-stocked with puzzles and huge soft blocks. I met a nice family and together we stacked blocks, knocked them over, stacked, knocked them over . . .

It was a dream come true. until I had to leave. My only disappointment was that I did not see George Bush at the library. maybe next time.

This photo was taken outside in the garden where there is a statue of Laura Bush reading.

Tomorrow we are taking my dad to the library so he can see why I love it so much. And we will present to my dad our case for paying $100 to have out-of-district membership. There is no better investment.