DC Metro Mom

Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts announces a robust offering of arts classes for all ages for winter 2012. With everything from individual piano lessons to family music and movement classes with infants and toddlers to a community drum circle, Wolf Trap has opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to connect with the arts.

The Washington Conservatory of Music offers a high quality Early Childhood Music program that is educational and fun.  Taught by a faculty comprised of early childhood music specialists, children experience the exciting world of music in a friendly, fun environment.  Classes include Bright 'n' Early Babies (Ages 0-2), Jazzy Tots (Ages 18 mos. to 3 yrs.), Singing with You (Ages 2-5), Saturday Morning Music Adventure (Ages 4-5) and more. Please note: they are still accepting enrollment until the end of September, and late registration can be prorated up until the third week of classes.

THIS WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN AUGUST 2010.  I WANTED TO SHARE WITH THOSE READERS WHO MAY NOT HAVE SEEN THIS GREAT ARTICLE ON SCHOOL READINESS!

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School Readiness
By - Maureen Barrett

No matter how much fun gets packed in my family's summer calendar, there is something bittersweet about turning that calendar page to "August" and the passing of these cicada-symphonic days that somehow seem to rush by faster than those first anticipatory summer days in June, when my kids couldn't wait for school to let out. Circulars pad my Sunday paper with ads trumpeting Back to School sales for clothes, school supplies, dorm furnishings... and I contemplate, not for the first time, where resides that place where I can enjoy one more day/week/month of all those things I am not ready to give up? And yet...

I recently saw the movie a "Race to Nowhere".  A friend mentioned that this Indie flick was playing at a local theater for a limited audience and tickets were going fast.  Always intrigued by a "hot" topic, I decided to attend.

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Do you ever have questions or concerns about how your 3-5 year old is walking, talking, playing, or behaving but don't know whom to ask or where to go for help?

In Washington DC it is estimated that 12% or more of children may have some type of developmental delay.

Let’s face it preschool is a big step for most parents and children. This is the first “official” school setting that your young child will be experiencing. Despite the fact that this is one of the first “Big” developmental milestones for your little one, it will be you that is obsessing and stressing over the decision and process surrounding preschool selection.

I went into the process with the faint memory of my years in preschool. Your parent signs you up and off you go. Now have fun and listen to the teacher…right? Wrong! First you need to select from an insane number of preschool options in our area. There is curriculum, class size, hours, religion, price, teacher tenure, security and more to consider when choosing where Junior will spend his days coloring. Of course today’s preschools offer much more than finger painting and snacks. Some higher end schools have these kids learning Russian and dissecting frogs (I kid you not!).

I was recently contacted by Dove with information on a special program they are running, Campaign For Real Beauty.  At first I thought the content may a bit old for DC Metro Mommy readers.  The material focuses on "Back-To-School Tips For Teens".  Still...I looked over the material.  I really like the information for two reasons, as women most of have struggled with the exact issues that are covered in the article things such as: body image issues, dealing with frenemies, clashing with cliques and more.  To me these are topics transcend the teen years and have a tendency to seep into adolescence and adulthood.  To be frank, I have met a few over the top 5 year old girls that have motivated me to grab my daughter and run from her gymnastics class!  Ouch...who knew that the "mean girl" phase started at the age of 5...yikes!!

The second reason I like the article is today's kids.  They are bright, intelligent and wise beyond their years.  They are faced with all the old ghosts that we dealt with and must also deal with the realities of technology.  Can you imagine what school must be like with texting, phones, computers, Facebook.  I don't know what your school was like, but the ladies at Archbishop Ryan High School were lethal.  I can't even imagine what we would have done with an open forum like Facebook.  Again, yikes!!

So for all the above listed reasons, I think this is a good read for all.  As a woman, you will relate, as a mother you will be reminded of what our kids face.

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EVERY PARENT'S BACK TO SCHOOL TIP SHEET
DOVE SELF ESTEEM FUND

So remember how Giggles has been going through a rough patch? For the past month or so, there has been a definite change in her behavior. She stopped wanting to go to ballet class, so we didn't make her go anymore. Then she started having potty accidents, which she never did before. She potty-trained super early (i.e. 27 months) and never looked back. Until now. And then last month, she decided that she didn't want to go to school anymore. We let her stay home a day here and a day there, and once she was at school she was totally fine and had fun. But she increasingly became more and more adamant about wanting to stay home. So we let her.

I figure she's still so young (she just turned 3) and she gave preschool a try for a good 6 months. She was doing wonderfully (writing her name, counting numbers, etc.) but I don't want to push her. After all, some kids don't go to school until Kindergarten. Maybe it was too much for her too soon. And I strongly believe that you have to know your child's personality and nuture it. But the director of the school, while supportive of our decision to keep her home, thinks that we should make her go to school because sometimes "parents have to push their babies out of the nest and let them fly." And I agree with her to a point. But I figure there's plenty of time for Giggles to her head back in the "school game." For now, she's soooo happy at home - playing to her heart's content and going for walks and entertaining her little brother - that I feel like she is flying...at her own speed.

Cross posted on http://mamalaw.blogspot.com/.

I recently overheard some moms at my son's preschool talking about Speech Therapy, and I realize I've never blogged about Speech Therapy and some wonderful things that I can pass on about it here in the blogosphere. My son speaks very well now, and we were done with Speech Therapy long before I started blogging...

BUT, someone is always dealing with a child's 'speech delay' as they call it. So I'm sharing what I learned.

My son was not speaking more than a few words when he turned 2. We started to be concerned, so looked into Speech Therapy. First of all, if you are in Montgomery County, MD, you are lucky to have a fantastic speech therapy team and services that will test your child, provide a speech therapist to come to your home, as well as speech therapy classes for parents- ALL FREE.

The last bit of information is the most important: classes for parents; and the most important part of the speech therapy class that I took was the book- It Takes Two To Talk. This book is invaluable. It teaches simple ways to motivate you child to speak and great ways to encourage speech. One suggestion was so simple that I overlooked it: Squat down and talk to your child face-to-face. I remember thinking, "What help is that? I already do that." But then I started to be conscious of taking the 3 extra seconds that it takes to squat down, look at my son, and then speak. I started to see a difference right away...

We made it through the first week of school! Both Chatterbox and Giggles started on Tuesday. It's a new school for Chatterbox and Giggles' very first school. I like it because the classes are very small (there's only 4 kids in Giggles' class and 6 in Chatterbox's) and it's very focused on the spiritual and academic growth of each child. Chatterbox has had no problems adjusting, but it's my baby girl that I'm worried about! She's cried every morning when I dropped them off and it's breaking my heart!

I know it's only the first week and the separation anxiety is to be expected, but I'm wondering if it's too early for her to be going to school? I'm going to give it at least another week, but if she is miserable, then I'll pull her out and she can stay home. The comforting thing is that when I pick her up at the end of the day, she is totally fine and excited to show me all of the things she did at school. So hopefully she'll adjust to the morning goodbye.

My babies are all grown up!

So my oldest, K, goes to the local public school. And by local, I mean 2 doors away. I have to say that we are lucky to live in an area that has some of the best public schools in the country. That said, I know a bunch of people that send their kids to private school. That just kills me. You pay all this extra money in property taxes and other fees to live in an area with high quality schools - and you send your kid to private school. I just don't get it. But anyway...

In our County we have options for school - we can go to the neighborhood joint, or we can select other options- like Montessori or Spanish-immersion. But we really wanted her to go to the local school, and I am so glad we made that choice.

First, at the Kindergarten orientation last year the Principal said we could schedule an appointment to come meet with her individually. So, I did. And at that meeting, she suggested I take an hour and visit the three kindergarten classes to get a feel for them, and offer my advice on which one would be best for my child. And so I did, and we love the teacher we selected that K got.

Now, as we approach 1st grade, I asked the Principal if I could do the same thing and for first grade. She welcomed my input, so I went and observed the three 1st grade classrooms. They were all great, but I definitely had a preference, which I emailed the principal.

I know that not all public schools are as welcoming, or helpful, or high quality. But I am so grateful for ours!

Cross posted http://www.threetimemommy.blogspot.com/.