Super Mondays

Parachute Time at Gymnastics

* Disclaimer: The photos are a bit shaky. It's hard to catch a 3 year old in action, especially when he doesn't want his picture taken.

When I began staying home full-time last month Edmund began a new preschool. He loved his old "big boy" school, but with the distance and cost Steven and I knew we would have to make a change. Edmund now attends Resurrection United Methodist Preschool which he refers to as "Jacob's School." (Jacob is our neighbor who also attends.) Despite the transition, Edmund seems to be loving Resurrection and often has to be told to wave good-bye to mommy because he is just "too busy." Steven and I have definitely been happy with our decision to move Edmund and Edmund has enjoyed getting to make new friends and having a multitude of play dates with the old.

Because Edmund only attends school Tuesdays through Thursdays we now have Mondays and Fridays to fill with our own activities. I've found getting around a bit more cumbersome as my pregnancy progresses, so I try to stick with simple adventures. Some days we take a short walk to the neighborhood park to skip stones in the pond, other days we go to our favorite nearby museums, and still others we simply set up shop at home doing crafts or playing sports galore in our driveway. Recently, we've gotten into a Monday routine of activities. This began when Edmund tried out gymnastics in mid-February.
In January Edmund passed by a gymnastics facility that had briefly relocated to a small mall in Chapel Hill and got it in his head that, by golly, he was going to try gymnastics. When he didn't forget, I signed him up for a trial class at Orange County Gymnastics. He had a great time and the teacher was phenomenal with his age group. I was able to register him for one month instead of a whole semester, so until the end of March, gymnastics is Edmund's weekly activity.

Because of Edmund's gross motor delay there are some aspects of gymnastics that are tricky for him, and he often wants to give up. The teacher and her assistant are both parents themselves and encourage him to try at least once. They don't force him to go beyond the one try and will give him assistance to build his confidence. I've been so pleased with this because, "I can't", is a phrase we're hearing more and more from Edmund. He's a kid who doesn't want to fail, so instead refuses to try. Knowing I was a similar kid myself it's important to me that Edmund gets that one try in. As much as I'm loving that Edmund is enhancing his gross motor skills in gymnastics, I'm even more thrilled the teachers are reinforcing the lessons we are teaching at home. Gymnastics won't be a long-term activity for Edmund, but I'm so glad he pushed me to sign him up. He's excited about being eligible for sports next year, and gymnastics has taught him that if you want to be an athlete you have to try and practice to learn new skills.

After our first day at gymnastics Edmund and I left and headed to Chapel Hill Public Library. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that story time for 3-5 year olds is offered just following gymnastics since our library in Durham only offers preschool story time while Edmund is at school. Edmund enthusiastically grabbed a ticket for story time that first day, and has asked to go back almost every Monday since. It is the perfect cool down after an exhausting physical workout. The parents at preschool story time sit back and for the most part act as if they aren't there. We are given the option to leave, but I'm so glad I haven't yet since Edmund has said some hilarious things.

Today's theme was bugs. The librarian asked the children if they like bugs. All but one little girl raised her hand. Edmund said "I like bugs, but not mosquitoes and bees because they sting." I'm with you on that Edmund. The librarian and the children spent the next few minutes discussing different kinds of bugs before jumping into stories and songs. Edmund said, "you know what? Beetles are bugs that roll poop." Not missing a beat the librarian said, "yes, dung beetles do that." Then Edmund replied, "you know what poop is? OK let me tell you." At this point I kind of wished I had left and sunk down against the wall. I wasn't sure where this was going. Edmund continued, "first you eat food, then it goes into your tummy and gets smushed up, and then it comes out your bottom." To my surprise the children took in this science lesson with no silly giggles and the librarian acknowledged Edmund and moved on. It was the parents who had to do their best not to laugh. Edmund remained engaged for the stories and had a great time with the hide-and-seek rhyming activity, "Bug Under a Rug." When gymnastics ends we'll definitely continue with story time, especially on those days we simply have to get out.

Our adventures over the past month haven't been exciting in the traditional sense, but as they've been things we would not have been able to do while I was working they're exciting for us. I'm liking our little routine for the moment, but also look forward to finding out what other mischief we can get into now that I have the flexibility.

Wave Your Pennants

*Flyleaf Story Time*

For awhile there I was keeping to my promise of updating the blog more frequently. Then life set in. If blogging were my daily job you'd have daily posts, but I have a daytime job that takes priority. Oh phooey! The past two weeks I've been preparing for parent-teacher conferences. The conferences in themselves aren't that bad, but the preparation takes my every waking moment. I've never been in the 2 year old room and I must say the seven portfolios I now have to keep up with versus the three I had become accustomed to in the infant room are much more daunting and time consuming. These children have better documentation of their short 2 year old lives than I have of my whole 29 years. Conferences aren't done yet, but the write-ups and portfolios are up to date, so I have more time to write about what I love, Edmund's adventures.

Yesterday Edmund and I hopped on over to story time at a relatively new independent bookstore in Chapel Hill, called Flyleaf. As a working mom I've always felt Edmund and I must be missing out on a childhood rite of passage. It seems every stay-at-home mom I know, and even those I don't know, live to take their children to story times. Because most story times occur during school hours, Edmund and I haven't had an opportunity to attend. Sure there's the occasional story time at Sea of Learning, but those are major events centered around characters. Thus, I've been looking for the quintessential story time for Edmund and I to attend ever since he demonstrated a love a reading.

Last month, the day after Edmund received his cherry flavored medicine, Edmund had a day at home with mom to fully recuperate. Edmund hadn't been on antibiotics for 24 hours, so he couldn't return to school, but he was well enough to attend a story time at Barnes and Noble. One of the employees read two books about trains while the majority of children in attendance ran around the store. Edmund will listen to any story, so he sat and enjoyed, oblivious to the chaos around him. The employee's reading left something to be desired. The "craft" that followed was a coloring sheet of a train, which Edmund had no interest in completing. If my early childhood professors had anything to say about the coloring sheets they would probably have collected them all and burned them.

I left the Barnes and Noble story time feeling better about not having the availability to take Edmund. Was it a waste of time? No. We were able to get out of the house for a few minutes after having been cooped up for days and Edmund got to hear a story. Could I have done a better job myself? Not to toot my own horn, but yes. Thus, when I found out about Flyleaf's new offering of a story time on Saturday I didn't have high hopes. Edmund and I went because Steven was working and I needed to get out of the house before I went stir-crazy.

There were only a handful of children at Flyleaf's first Saturday story time. I loved the intimate feel. I'm sure as word spreads the story time will fill up, but I must say it was nice to have a group of kids who truly wanted to listen to the books. The day's theme was sports and the employee, Sarah, had picked out three books for a variety of ages. The first book was slightly advanced for Edmund, but he listened just the same. Sarah was a great reader. She clearly had read the books beforehand and her enthusiasm for each and every book shone through. She did voices and if the books called for a little dance or cheer, she made up a little dance or cheer. The children were thoroughly engaged. When she finished reading, one little girl brought over a book about the potty. Sarah didn't turn her away, but added the book to her line-up. She knew the book and read it with just as much energy as she had the books she had prepared.

When she finished reading, Sarah led the children and parents into the conference room for a craft. The children were able to design their own pennants using foam flags, letters, and sports balls. Edmund got into this since the majority of balls were stickers. He also found an E sticker for Edmund to proudly display on his pennant. He especially liked that the big basketball he found required glue. He's all about the glue these days, and lots of it. There were indeed the prerequisite story time coloring sheets, which Edmund of course ignored, but the older girls who were present spent quite a bit of time coloring. I liked the fact the crafts truly met the theme and kids had the opportunity to be as creative as they wanted.

If we are able, Edmund and I will be back next month. Sarah told us that library science students from UNC will be practicing their story telling skills then. It sounds like a blast. We rounded out the morning with a trip to one of my favorite restaurants, Fosters, conveniently located right next to Flyleaf. By the time we finished with story time, the craft, and our own reading session in the children's section it was 11:00. The perfect time for a brunch at Foster's and the perfect way to end a morning out at story time.

Location: Flyleaf Books 752 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. (Historic Airport Rd.) Chapel Hill, NC 27514

For events and story time listings see link in posting.

*I apologize for yet another lack of an Edmund picture. I finally remembered the camera, but when I went to get a great shot of Edmund with his pennant I discovered the battery was completely dead.

Oh George

Curious George and Edmund

Today Steven and I took Edmund to see Curious George at A Sea of Learning, our local teacher store. I received an email about a week ago that Curious George was coming to A Sea of Learning and I immediately put the event on the calendar. Steven had me figured out. I was definitely the one who wanted to see the larger than life George, but I thought Edmund would enjoy the experience too. Steven thought Edmund might be scared of Curious George. I thought otherwise. After all, Edmund had sat on Rameses' lap the past two Christmases.

A Sea of Learning did an excellent job getting the word out about Curious George. Almost too good if you ask me. The place was packed, and we arrived 15 minutes early. The owner of the store turned on the Curious George movie while we waited. Edmund had no interest. He wanted to go back and play with the Thomas "choo choos" in the front of the store. Fortunately, I was able to distract Edmund from the trains because if he'd gone back to the front there's no way we would have been able to catch a glimpse of the curious monkey. At last, it was time to call on George. Edmund got into the act and said "Googe." When Curious George made his way into the crowd a small smile crept across Edmund's face. Edmund remained focused as Curious George counted beach balls and even listened as the owner of A Sea of Learning read Curious George's first book. Edmund was able to keep his focus despite the din of the crowded room.

After the reading was over I asked Edmund if he wanted to meet George. Edmund said "Googe" and smiled. I took that as a yes, but the line to sit with the curious monkey was long. We wandered around the outside of the store for quite awhile and spent some time with the "choo choos", hoping the line would fizzle out before Edmund had enough. Eventually the line dwindled to a few other families and soon it was Edmund's turn to sit with George. Edmund let me hand him off without a fuss. He put on quite a show for the store's owner and parents still waiting in line. Edmund's expressions as he spent time with George had everyone in stitches.

Despite the crowd at A Sea of Learning, the visit with Curious George was well worth it. As we drove home Edmund began giggling as he recalled his short time with George. "Ohhhh Googe" he giggled repeatedly. Now we all had the giggles. What a funny monkey.