My baby is growing up

 . . . too quickly!

I can't believe three months of school are almost up.  This year is even more momentous because Indio is finally old enough to attend the Montessori school I teach at.  He is a "3" in a class of 3-, 4- and 5-year olds with two of the calmest teachers I've met.  There is a lot of energy in this class, especially with the Kindergarten-aged boys, and both of Indio's teachers seem to handle it all with such grace.  Of course, my kid is attracted to these rambunctious, older boys, especially on the playground where games of "Aliens and Vampires" are the norm!

Luckily, Indio also loves the classroom work and routines.  I had often thought about how my own child(ren) would be in a Montessori classroom and listening to Indio speak about the Montessori materials he uses in class brings my Montessori training from 12 years ago full circle for me.  I'm so glad we made this choice.

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Foto Friday: week 31

It's August? What??? How did that happen?

This week I had 3 cameras on the go: my trusty point-n-shoot, the dSLR, and a disposable film camera for Rhianne's PhotoSwap, which wrapped up this week. Funny thing was, I found it harder to take photos with the plethora of cameras rather than easier! And it was a complete learning curve for me using the disposable! Of course, I can't post any of the film photos because I have to send them off to my partner, Leslie, so enjoy the selection of digital photos I did manage to take. Hope you're all having a fabulous week!

[day 211: Sharing a plum.]

[day 212: Date night on the Danforth.]

[day 213: Why is everyone against weeds? This one is so pretty.]

[day 214: Another snail photo in my parents' garden.]

[day 215: If I had more space, this would become a rant, but for now, just a caption. Five City of Toronto camp counselors doing absolutely nothing while their charges run around unsupervised. Oh wait, one guy is doing something: texting on his cell phone!]

[day 216: How many raisins is too many?]

[day 217: A rare dinner with my Montessori girls at the Keg. How is it that I see them just as infrequently living in the same city as I did when I lived in NYC? We made a pact to change that starting now!]

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From the mouths of babes...

A conversation that occurred this afternoon between myself and a second grader:

"Mrs. R, may I go to the washroom?"

"Sure."

"I'm going to be a long time."

"Why?"

"Because I have to, you know, do, you know, the long one."

"Um, ok then. Thanks for letting me know."

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Binders & Butterflies

I woke up this morning with butterflies in my stomach, a bit anxious, a bit excited. It happens every year around this time. Tomorrow is the first day of school. Growing up, I used to love the back-to-school shopping, labeling all my supplies, putting together a new outfit for the first day. And then when school actually began, I reveled in getting my locker organized, writing out my schedule in my neatest handwriting, making sure my notebooks and binders were colour-coded [yes, I was that kid].

In more recent years, this time of year still held that air of importance for me, but from a different angle: I was the teacher. I got to order school supplies for the whole class! [I love the Staples catalog like some people worship the IKEA one!] I enjoy organizing my classroom, labeling each subject area, making seating plans and charts for the students.

This September, I wasn't planning on teaching, deciding instead to extend a self-designated maternity leave since while in NYC, I was back at work part time when Indio was 3 months old! [Don't get me started on the perils of US maternity benefits...or lack thereof.] I was hoping to enter the Canadian workforce again in Sept '10, when Indio would be old enough to join a toddler classroom in the Montessori school I would be working at. I didn't want to worry about the hassle of childcare this year, and after talking to E, we both decided it would be better, both financially and emotionally, for me to stay home with Indy for this next year.

Well, that all changed when a good Montessorian and friend of mine called me up one Thursday afternoon with the offer of a job at a school on the outskirts of Toronto. It was a temporary position, ironically covering the end of another teacher's maternity leave. I was very hesitant to make the call to arrange to meet my future boss, more because I didn't want to have to think about all the juggling and scheduling I would have to do if I decided to take this position.

In the end, I took it. Since the position is only guaranteed for the month of September, I figured it would be a good way to get my feet wet in the whole full-time-working-mom world. Tomorrow is the first day of classes. I hope my students like the outfit I picked out. Wish me luck!

My old elementary school had this reminder up all summer.

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Bend it like Beckham...sort of

Last night, E had his first organized soccer game in over 10 years! Our friend, Jody invited E to join the team, which is made up of Jody's husband and friends. It's a coed team part of Extreme Toronto Sports Club [XTSC] and one of the rules is that 2 women need to be playing at all times. Since there were only 2 females present yesterday, they both had to play the entire hour, while the guys were able to switch out periodically. [How is that fair?]

Since it was an early game that wouldn't interfere with Indio's bedtime, we cheered from the sidelines, watching the action with the CN Tower as a backdrop. It was perfect summer evening, not too hot, not too humid.

The other team was short 2 players and still seemed to be able to hold their own! They gave Westside United a run for their money, though in the end WU came out on top with a 4-2 win.

The team is named after Jody's newly-opened school, Westside Montessori School in downtown Toronto. The school will soon be celebrating its 1st anniversary. I can't even put into words how proud I am of Jody and her partner, Liz, for starting up their own school. Jody and I did our Montessori training together at Toronto Montessori Institute back in 2000 and here she is, being her own boss and doing what she loves: passing on the brilliance of Maria Montessori. Westside serves children aged 18 months - 6 years. Last March, E, Indio and I visited the school. I was so impressed with the thought that went into every detail when setting up their classrooms. Not only did the asethetics speak to the Montessori *prepared environment* but also to Jody's own funky style. It was a modern-day Montessori wonderland. [I'll have to get some photos to share!]

E and his fancy footwork.

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Giving up control

About a month ago we started giving Indio *solids*: avocado, sweet potato, banana. We chose not to start with baby cereal, but with fresh vegetables and fruit instead, mushed up and mixed with breast milk. I did a lot of reading about feeding solids and recently came across a lot on the topic of *baby-led weaning*, which essentially states that the child should decide what and when to eat solids and that it wasn't necessary to purée everything in sight!

It's funny how once you read something you start seeing it pop up everywhere. This past Saturday, the Toronto Star printed an article in the Lifestyle section all about baby-led weaning, quoting Gill Rapley, British public health nurse and author of Baby-led Weaning.

Now, Indio isn't going to choose his food at the grocery store, or even out of the fridge, but the idea is that you put food in front of the child and let them go at it, or completely ignore it, whatever they choose. That also means that I have to give up some of the control, but it sounds like it could be a good thing. It also reminds me so much of my Montessori training where we were taught to *follow the child* by letting the child choose work from an array of developmentally-appropriate material presented to them.

Saturday evening, when friends were over for dinner, I decided to start Indy with a spear of cucumber. [It's suggested that food should be *french fry* shape, and as big as the child's fist.] Though he doesn't have any teeth yet, Indio was able to take a chunk out of the cucumber and began gagging. I had read that gagging was natural, but my instinct was to sweep my finger through his mouth and remove the incriminating piece. He even threw up a bit. That put an end to my experiment, and I was left thinking that I was destined to months of using the foodmill.

Today, I decided to give it another shot after reading more about gagging being a natural defense for babies to learn how to eat. I peeled a hunk of nectarine and presented it to Indy in a bright blue plastic bowl. He was much more interested in the bowl so I had to take the nectarine piece out and hand it to him. After a brief inspection, he brought it to his mouth and took a hunk out of it with his toothless gums. Again, he gagged and again I freaked. But, once I got the piece out I let him try again. He took a few more tastes before tossing it aside, giving all his attention to the blue bowl. I guess he made his choice.

Noshing on nectarine

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