The Bean at Two and Half Years Old

This post is awesomely overdue.  I had every intention to post on the day The Bean turned two and a half, and though we had started the update, that day came and went.  And then we were away.  And, well, it just hasn't happened until now.  Hope it doesn't cause him any great trauma. ;)

So...

Jen and I have both been noticing so many new things that The Bean is doing these days, but of course, now that we're sitting down to record them it's hard to remember them all, so rather than being completely comprehensive, this is just a snapshot of what The Bean is up to at two and half years old.  (With actually snapshots from the past month, mostly taken on our trip to PA, you know, in case I don't get to that update.)

-The Bean is still a little peanut.  He weighs somewhere around 25lbs and we're not really sure how tall he is.  He usually wears 24 month shirts and 18 month shorts, but today, for example, he was wearing a 9 month swim suit.  It's not a concern, he's just a short and slender guy.

-His favourite shirt right now is his octopus shirt.  He maintains that it is a scary octopus.  We can mostly get away with sticking him in an outfit of our choosing, but he does now have some opinions on what he does and doesn't want to wear.

-Another thing he's been wearing is underwear!  He's doing a great job with potty training.  He is able to "hold it" for a couple of hours and sometimes remembers to go without a reminder.  He's even been waking dry from time to time, which makes us think about when a good time to ditch the nap and nighttime diaper will be.  We're not quite there with BMs yet.

-The big boy has also started sleeping in a toddler bed.  The transition has been going really well.  We've kept our usual routines around bedtime, which helps and the crib is there as an option (and also a consequence for getting out of the toddler bed).  He'll sometimes ask us to lie down with him for a little while before leaving the room, but that's okay.

-The past few months especially we've received many complements on how well The Bean expresses himself.  It's hard for me to remember what's typical for a two and half year old, but he does seem to have a pretty good vocabulary and is usually quite confident speaking to people.  He will greet people and introduce himself.  He can clearly express his likes and dislikes.  He loves to sing and has just recently started making up songs and stories, which is both adorable and hilarious.  He tells knock knock jokes.  (His favourite right now is knock knock." "Who's there?" "Hank." "Hank who?"  "You're welcome!")  And with a reminder to say it as a question, he will rephrase his demands.  

-He loves to run and jump and climb.  He is pretty fearless.  Fortunately we haven't had many big falls (just one tumble down the stairs about gave me a heart attack).  He loves playing outside and going to the park, especially the "big park" which is about a ten or fifteen minute walk from our house, as opposed to the "little park" which is right outside our front door.

-He is also very into vehicles.  Emergency and construction vehicles to be more precise.  (Oh, and motorcycles.  Let's not forget those!  And trains.  To be safe, let's just say all vehicles.)  They were building a house a few blocks from his daycare and every morning we would have to circle the block at least three times for him to see the digger.

-I already mentioned the singing, but he also loves playing instruments as well as listening to music.  He can identify guitar, violins, pianos and drums when listening to music.  He also recognizes all kinds of instruments.  It's pretty impressive.

-I wouldn't say he's particularly into visual art, but he does seem to enjoy play-doh, painting, colouring and stickers, so maybe he's more into it than I would be inclined to acknowledge.  He loves it when people draw things for him.  Trains and rocketships are both high on the request list.

-Bathtime is pretty popular.  He likes to "play toys" in the bathtub.  He hates having his hair washed.

-He's kept up with his swimming lessons and is doing really well with them, but like in the bathtub, does not like getting his head/hair wet.  He can now kick his legs and "pull" his arms.  He blows bubbles.  All the games and songs they play as a part of the class are played in the bathtub at home and sung pretty much all the time.  We're taking a break from swimming lessons over the summer, but will start back up in September.

-He also just finished a session of gymnastics classes.  It was a city-run program and not really super-high on the instructive level, but he enjoyed playing around on the equipment.  Jen and I saw a big improvement in his balance on the beam in particular.  He seemed to enjoy the "monkey bars" and playing "What Time is it Mr. Wolf?" the most.   

-Though we limit it to a great degree, The Bean does watch some TV (both at home and at daycare).  His favourite shows are Blue's Clues, Dora, SuperWhy and Octonauts.

-He also really likes Spiderman.  I don't think he's ever seen it as a show, but they have Spidey action figures at daycare and apparently they are a hit with all the kids there.  (The daycare provider said she had to go out and get multiple Spidermen since all the kids wanted the same toy.)  When he was teeny tiny Grandma and Grandpa gave him some Spiderman PJs and a costume, which he is really enjoying getting use out of now.

-Daycare is going great.  In addition to loving the provider, her family, and all the kids there, we can also see that he is learning a lot.  He pretty much can recite the entire alphabet, recognizes most letters, can count to ten accurately and to 20 with some assistance, knows his colours, the days of the week, etc. etc.  It's a ways off, but I am sure he's going to be super well-prepared for kindergarten.

-He still loves books.  Oliver Jeffer's is a favourite author (his books Lost and Found and How to Catch a Star, in particular).  We've moved towards reading some longer story books versus quick little ones.  I love it when he gets really into it and will just sit on our lap and listen and look at the pictures and talk about it.   I also love it when he goes over and picks books out himself to look at.  He's even started memorizing a few and listening to him "read" is pretty awesome.

-Perhaps even better is listening to him read to his little sister.  I love our Bean in this big brother role.  He reads to her and sings to her and tickles her tummy.  He just lights up when he sees her in the morning, and the admiration is definitely mutual.  Recently there's been a little pulling of toys away from her while she's playing and the like, but it's understandable and (so far) fairly easily dealt with.  

-In true two and a half year old fashion, he can get quite fussed up when something his not going his way.  He's prone the the odd tantrum and some whining, especially when he's hungry or tired.  We've got a fairly low tolerance for it.  Hitting results in a time out.  Mostly we try to talk to him about what's bothering him and/or distract him.  I won't miss it when he outgrows this.  (That happens by three, right? ;) )

-Again acting like a typical two and a half year old, he has become The Pickiest Eater.  Mostly this means he ends up eating the same few things day after day.  Toast and apple sauce for breakfast.  Peanut butter, hummus, sometimes pasta, a hard boiled egg, hot dogs and chicken fingers for lunch and dinner.  Granola bars, soy yogurt, grapes, watermelon, banana, raisins, crackers, rice cakes for snacks.  The occasional cookie or popsicle for a treat.  (He loves treats.)  He also loves cheese, but we've taken him off all animal dairy as he was having some tummy issues.  I suppose he could be pickier, but we're working with a pretty limited menu these days.

-Sleeping is pretty good.  He goes down between 7:30 and 8:00pm most evenings and sleeps until somewhere between 6:00 and 7:00am.  He naps in the afternoon.  Usually just a short time at daycare (an hour or two) but on the weekends will sometimes sleep for four hours or so depending on how tired out his is from our morning activities.  We sometimes even need to wake him up from his nap to ensure that he'll be tired enough before bedtime.

Having a two and a half year old is wonderful and challenging.  He will sometimes say "I frus-trated!" and sometimes I tell him I am too.  The spontaneous "I love yous" and sweet giggles are sure to last longer in our memories than the imagine of him crying at the bottom of the stairs because it's time to come in for dinner.   Parenting this little guy is such a privilege.  We're lucky to be his moms.

Job Prospect(s) Update

A few people have asked, so I thought I should do a quick update on the job prospect I posted about here, and mention a few other potential opportunities that have come up.

First: Good news!  I got an interview for the kindergarten position!  The interview is not until the end of this month as (most) private schools here have a two week long March Break.  There's certainly things I need to do to prepare myself, but I'm not as anxious about it as I was last year when I interviewed for the girls' school.

Speaking of which, I found out that I definitely would have been offered that position when I popped by my old school to let people there know they might be getting reference calls.  Apparently the head of the girls' school told my ex-principal that they would have hired me had I not been pregnant.  I'm not sure when my ex-principal found that out, but it could explain why I wasn't offered any of the non-teaching positions that I know were available at my ex-school this past fall. 

I also found out that the woman who took over the second Senior Kindergarten position was laid off for next fall.  They only have enough students enrolled to have one Senior Kindergarten class next year.  Sounds like things there are going downhill quickly.  So maybe in some ways maybe it is good that I am not there anymore.  (Though if I had been off on mat leave they would have had to give me a position equivalent to the one I had previous to my leave --which means I likely would have ended up teaching a different grade and kept my job.) 

Anyway, there is also another posting for another full-time permanent Senior Kindergarten positon.  Again at a Christian school, this one more religious than the one I have the interview for.  (Which I have since discovered really just has it's roots as an Anglican school, but is non-denominational now, though they still have weekly "chapel.")  It's north of us, rather than west, but really just as far of a commute.  The big bonus of this position is that it doesn't start until Septemeber.  Even knowing that, I would still probablyprefer working at the first school, but I'm still definitely going to apply for this one too.  In fact, I already have. 

However, the best potential may be the third job I've found which is for a Primary/Junior teaching position at a third (completely non-religious) private school.  I have no idea what grade they are trying to fill, which means I may not be as good of a candidate for this job as for the other two, but it's still worth a shot.  The application is due next week.

The only tricky thing is that it is likely that if I am offered the first job, they will want a response before I find out about the second, and perhaps even before I interview for the third (if I do get an interview).  I guess I'll deal with all that if and when it comes up.  I'm just happy to have some potential opportunities right now. 

Oh, also, as if thing aren't busy enough, I enrolled in a course beginning in April.  It's part two of a three part course to become a reading specialist.  It'll probably be a bit overwhelming, but it's not like things are going to get less busy around here, so I figured I might as well get it done now. 

Alternative Educational Approaches

Last month my friend, Ashleigh, asked my opinion on Montessori vs. Waldorf schools.  I would by no means consider myself an expert on any educational approach, but may have a bit more background than others having taught in a “Montessori inspired” environment for several years and having done research and workshops on various approaches.

I feel like right now there are three strong alternatives to traditional education  --Montessori, Waldorf, and Reggio Emelia.  They share some common elements, but are still quite different from one another.  I’ll speak to each of these in relation to early years learning (pre-kindergarten/kindergarten) as this is the area that I am the most knowledgeable about and also what I think would pertain to the majority of my blog readers. 

Here’s my little run-down of each method:

 

Montessori

The focus in a Montessori classroom is on child-directed learning through the use of specifically designed materials created and set up to further the child’s independence and curiosity.  Children have the freedom to choose activities and explore them without interruption.  The classroom is usually quiet and calm, with most students focused on individual tasks. 

The classroom is carefully prepared with materials (many specific to the method), most of which are made of natural materials.  The materials are arranged from easiest to most complex and many contain control of error, allowing the child to self-correct.

The teacher’s main role is to observe the child, guide them when needed, present new tasks (to individuals or small groups) as the child shows interest and ability, and to prepare the classroom environment.

The traditional Montessori classroom is set up in multi-age groupings.  This allows for younger children to learn from their older peers and older children to act as role models/ mentors.

Criticisms:
-anyone, trained or not, can call themselves a “Montessori” teacher or school.  If you’re considering going this route it is a good idea to ask what the teachers’ credentials are.
-depending on the teachers/ school, it can be quite rigid.
-critics say that creativity can be stifled in Montessori environment.  If I were going this route, I would inquire as to how the arts and movement are incorporated into the program.

Waldorf

The aim of Waldorf education is to nurture the whole child, raising him to his fullest potential.

Waldorf classrooms are beautiful (often pastel-coloured), simple, learning environments.  In the younger grades, there is a strong emphasis is on imagination and creativity, with extensive time allowed for guided free play using natural materials.   Oral language and daily, weekly and seasonal rhythm/ routines are strongly emphasized.

The teacher acts are a role model and stays with the same class throughout their elementary years.

Criticisms:
-children are held back from academic learning, even when ready.
-parents are expected to adhere to the philosophy at home, including a ban on television/screen time, and clothing free of commercial images.
-there is a focus on imaginary woodland creatures (faries, gnomes, etc.), which I, personally, feel is a little bit bizarre. 
-I also found there to be unacknowledged Christian undertones, which mainly bothered me for being unacknowledged in a school that claims to be non-denominational. 

Reggio Emilia

This approach contains no pre-determined curriculum, but gives children control over their own learning, encouraging small group project work and self-expression where children, teachers, and community members work collaboratively.

Focused academic instruction is not formally provided, rather children learn to symbolically represent their ideas and feelings through any of their “hundreds of languages” (words, movement, drawing, music, etc.) as they record their ideas to communicate with others. 

Work is displayed around the classroom.  The classroom is seen as an extension of the child’s world.  It is a busy environment, where children are actively engaged in their various projects.

Criticisms:
-lack of curriculum and focused academic instruction.
-expected parental involvement may be a challenge for working parents.
-students who are not interested in what the group is doing may feel excluded or coerced into inquiring into a topic in which they have little to no interest.

Hopefully that provides just a small bit of background to anyone who is interested in any of these alternatives to traditional education.  In my opinion, the “best choice” most often boils down to what best suits the child as an individual and the teachers giving the instruction.  As a parent, you need to look at what you feel is best for your little one(s) and trust your instincts.  You all already knew that though. ;)

For anyone who is interested, The Bean is not in any of these types of programs, but does attend a lovely little home daycare/preschool where he gets lots of unstructured play time, some group “lessons”, stories, art, outdoor time and outings.  As I know I’ve said before, we’re very happy with where he is and have no plans to send him elsewhere for the time being.