Back to School '09-10

This school year got off to a great start. No drama...just happy children! When Sophia started Kindergarten I saw this idea in Family Fun magazine about making a school bus cake. I wasn't expecting this to become a "tradition"(i don't like to start out expecting something to be a tradition b/c just as soon as I do it will not work and then I would be sad and who wants to be sad!) but it has....and Sophia is the one who reminds us that we need to do this one(thanks for taking the pressure off me baby-girl!. Here is our creation this year:

This actually looks just like the kid's bus! ha

And here are their "first day of school against the beige wall" pictures. She doesn't look that old in person, I promise:)

Mr. Tough Guy. He doesn't look that old...or that tough...in person:)

Granny...recognize those outfits? They have been waiting to wear them all summer!!

It's going to be a long year....

2nd grade is tough. Not academically but...don't know the word for it...but there isn't much room for error in the behavior department. Now I am not making excuses for Nate but he is struggling with trying to figure out what is acceptable at school and what isn't. When he is supposed to talk and when to be quiet...and even how loud his voice should be. Today I ate lunch with him and asked his teacher how his morning was. She said it has been tough and that he "screamed" in the hallway on the way to lunch. I asked him about it....he said he didn't scream and didn't know if he talked too loud or not...hmmmm. Someone was trying to get in front of him in line and he said "no!" and apparently it came out louder than legally allowed at LCE. He got a warning yesterday that he was getting a bad note sent home to me for his behavior. When I asked why he didn't really know. We have been through this avoidance of the truth before so I began going over the consequences if he didn't tell me everything. Well I got most of it out of him and warned him that his story better match up with his teacher's when I got the note the next day. He thought about that and then started crying. He didn't know if it was what she was going to say or why he was getting the note..he was really concerned and anxious about not knowing exactly what he did. At this point I believed he really didn't understand exactly why he was getting in trouble. I think in 1st grade they allowed more talking/playing. Maybe their lessons were more hands-on or more movement involved. Maybe he is having to sit more in 2nd grade and the wiggles overcome him. Maybe he keeps his lips sealed for so long that when someone tries to cut in front of him he explodes....on accident:) ha. Again...not making excuses. This is good for him. He needs to learn all these rules of society....I just hate the process!

I talk with him everyday about what he needs to work on. He listens and wants to change. I can tell he is processing everything and wants to do better. I have to remind myself that he is only 7. It will take time to learn these rules that come naturally for others.

So I am a little concerned that this is going to be a long hard year for him! His teacher is great but strict!

Makeover

These are the Brokamp sisters. We loved having them over to play. Everyone got along and they were a joy to be around. This was their last "spend the night" party(they moved recently) and they made a fashion show in the preschool room complete with a red carpet runway! I love watching their imagination. Another attribute I love about these girls is how they take care of each other. They truly are best friends!

Kylie-5 1/2 years old. I had the priveledge of having her in preschool for 2 years!

This is Bailey. She attended the same preschool as Nate. That is how I met Joanne.

This is the oldest Savannah. She is 13 and gorgeous.

And here is our princess.

(i have gotten a little better with my make-up skills, huh, Natalie and Lindsey...I need to scan those pictures in a post them!)

Our HUGE puppy

So here are some pictures of our sweet Bichon puppy Obie Won Ki-nobie...spelled phonetically of course:) He is much bigger than we anticipated but we are in love with every inch of his enormous size!

All the Bichon's we saw on the internet were a lot smaller...Obie is definately at the top of his length-range...if there is such a thing... and probably at the top of his weight category. He is a very sturdy dog and withstands the kid's(mainly Nate)playful attitudes...which was something we wanted!

Don't you just want to hold his face in your hands and kiss him! Well...probably not all of you:)!

The only thing that really bothers us is how he treats the Granny-dog(lovingly nicknamed by our friends the Brokamp's). Cricket is 14. She can't play with Obie like he would like...but he sure tries! He teases her, bullies her, nips her, etc. She will bark back and show her teeth and then cough like an old man. It is funny but we don't let him tease her too much. They rarely are snuggled like this so I thought I would snap the picture.

There is no telling what Cricket is thinking here. They say dogs live in the moment. They dont' remember the past. So maybe Cricket forgets from day to day how she gets tortured from this abomnible fur dog and enjoyed the warm body next to her.

letter

I was cleaning off the desk and found this letter from Sophia written 9/29/07.

Dear Mom and Dad,

I love you veary much. Sometimes you allso get anoing.

You'er good pearents but I need time alon. Dad I know I can trust you.

Mom I can trust you too. I know I can trust you to be better pearents.

You'er great pearents and peaple. Sometimes you need to try to be better pearents.

You'er great at taking cear of me and Nate. I love you veary much.

Love, Sophia

I remember finding this letter...she was just beginning to see that parents could be annoying I guess! ha!

Dropping like flies....

I was going through my drafts and decided to go ahead and publish a few...this was started in July....

So back in May I had 6 students enrolled in my preschool! I had one opening left! Wahoo! But I knew this would be short-lived since 3 of my families had their house for rent or for sale. Within 1 month 2 of my students moved. OK. I have 4 others. That is enough to start the year off. Then last week the parents decided to move their child to another preschool so he could be around more children his age. I have always said the parent knows what is best for their child. I was a little sad but the parents know what is best... So I am down to 3. But I highly suspect one will not be returning because he will need full-time childcare in the Fall. So that leaves 2-one of which has her house for sale. I know the market is slow right now but she has had a lot of activity with showings and potential offers! So my 2 students could actually be one!


I have ordered 5 vinyl signs to help with my advertising and I plan to put them out next week in local neighborhoods to see if I can get some business. Surely there are 3-4 SAHM's that would like a high-quality preschool education for their child! The problem I run into is parents wanting a preschool close to home but needing full-time care....something I am not offering. I also do not offer a religious education and in a prodimently Baptist town that is another strike against my program. I am also a Mormon which is something Baptist frown upon. I guess they would think my religion might seep through into my finger plays? But i have so much to offer. My price is lower for many reasons but not because I skimp on my services. I offer small class size with lots of one-on-one attention. I use a wonderul phonics program that I tailor to fit each child's ability. I have my bachelor's degree and best of all I LOVE teaching preschool. *sigh*


When the economy was at its peak of "badness" and when business were closing I had the thought that it could also affect my business. Would families have the money for a private preschool? Would mom's have to go back to work and need full-time care? So in a way i was prepared for this slow time. then after my friend decided it would be best to put her child in another program I had the thought "there might now be enough people in this town to support another private preschool". The preschool at the Methodist Church closed in May because of low enrollement. Is that going to happen to me?


8-22-09 UPDATE:

Well I decided to "take a year off" with preschool. It was a very heart-wrenching decisions....very torn and even after I made a decision about when I would finally decide what i would do it was hard to finally make the decision I had already made. Ha. Wasn't that confusing! So now I am volunteering more at the school and teaching more at the gym. I will not be as busy but I know there will be things to quickly fill up my time I am sure! I dont' really think about not doing preschool because when I do it hurts...but I will teach again. I am not sure if it will be in my home but I will teach preschool again. Part of me was upset that I had all this equipment and what now?? But I can take it to another classroom...it is portable. It won't go to waste. Nothing I did or bought will go to waste! I loved my 2 years and know I made a difference in Kylie, Trent, Chase, Todd, Isabel, Addy, Kolby and Patrick....as they made a difference in me.

Random happenings....

(here is another post that has sat in my draft box for a few weeks....)

So the summer vacation is officially O.V.E.R. I am really OK with this since we have had the best summer yet. I didn't babysit so that gave us lots and lots of free time to go and do what we wanted...and we went and did a lot! THe beginning of the summer we spent 3 weeks in the Philippines. When we returned we spent the next week getting over jet lag and then went to water parks, camping, more water parks, movies, etc. We did a lot of our excursions on MOndays since that is Richard's off day. It was fun to include him in our activities.


Now school has started. I am really looking forward to a great year. Nate has the same 2nd grade teacher that SOphia had. She is a no-nonsense kind of teacher and was excited to see another Villamor. I asked about her discipline policy since we need daily accountability to keep on track. She said she understands since she raised 2 boys herself! Whew. Nate has come a LONG way from his days in PreK and his behavior continues to improve...or his self-control I should say. He did have a little anxiety when RIchard dropped him off at his class...but who wouldnt'! I cried very hard when I was dropped off for 2nd grade. Mrs. Lamoray had to hold me back while Mama left. THe next day I faked sick so I could stay home!


SOphia has a great teacher and this year will change classes and see all the 4th grade teachers. She also has a lot of her buddies in her class which will be so fun for her. She came home Friday saying she has the BEST teacher and that this was going to be a great year. WHen I told Lisa Modling her comment, she quickly corrected her because her 3rd grade teacher was the Best:) Of course she was her 3rd grade teacher and the BEST. I guess it is safe to say Mrs. Tanner will be the best 4th grade teacher;)

UPDATE: so we are still having a great start to the school year. so there really isn't an update to give:)