Willows Elementary School - Nova

Attended Willows from Kindergarten to Grade 5

K- Mrs. Glue

1 - Mrs Fairburn

2 - Mrs Coady

3 - Miss Meikle

4 - almost Mr. Popoff... Mrs. Hockin

5 - Mr. Popoff

Kindergarten - no distinct memories.  Vaguely remember walking down the stairs into the kindergarten room.  The cloak room, the kitchen area and wearing slippers

Grade 1.  Peeing my pants and Mrs. Fairburn discreetly handing me my gym bag and sending me to the restroom to change.  

Grade 2.   I wasn't certain who the teacher was until I looked through the paperwork from the forties file.  I do remember where the classroom was located in the building.  End of the hall,  top of the stairs to the right.  I believe I broke my thumb riding my bike to school that year and didn't have to write a spelling test that week.  I met Trevor Lines in that class... and to my eternal shame... leaned over one day in class and kissed him.  Not the way to introduce yourself!  However of all the children in my class that year... he's the only one I remember by name!

Grade 3 - Miss Meikle.  She was short and older.  I recall she was well traveled.  Often spoke of African and Middle eastern trips she had taken.  No fondness for her or that year.. no dislike either... 

Grade 4.  First day of school sitting in my new classroom.. forty students.. not enough desks... Mr. Popoff looking intimidating.  Agonizing hour not knowing if I would be kept in his class or one of the fortunates asked to go to the new teacher's class.  Hallelujah.  I was selected.  I remember the terror of that hour vividly.. the name of the new teacher... nothing!  I do remember enjoying the new teacher and she reminded me of Julie Andrews.  This was the year of the 'great eclipse!'  Likely a normal eclipse, but I remember having to close all the blinds in our classroom.  DO NOT LOOK AT THE SUN!  being ingrained into us, and the TERRIBLE storm that accompanied the eclipse.  (I assumed storms always accompanied eclipses until recently)... It was 'the great eclipse' also because that TERRIBLE storm, caused a large tree to uproot and fall ... and crush my bicycle.  Not something a timid, small 9 year old girl ever forgets. 

I believe I began crosswalk patrol that year.  Seems crazy now to think of nine year olds being in charge of stopping traffic and other children's safety.

 (The teacher's name was Mrs. Hockin.. thankfully she signed my report cards)

Grade 5.  Back in that same class again.  Mr. Popoff, still looking intimidating.  And no reprieve that year.  A whole year of Mr. Popoff... kicked in garbage cans, broken pencil sharpeners, split meter sticks... and an unusually strict adherence to colouring in one direction with pencil crayons on hundreds of maps!

(I can't help thinking of how old I was.  I cannot picture Whittaker handling such an intimidating teacher with any more grace.  How did children not run home crying daily?)

I remember whole school assemblies.  Being a 'cougar', for school spirit activities.  Going upstairs to the nurses cubby of a room for shots.  Walking to Grandma's for lunch on Wednesdays.
Hot dogs and real milk on special Fridays.

Recess:  Square ball, leap frog, Chinese skipping, playing on the soccer team - briefly- the ball against the wall game... each level added another difficult dimension such as turning around and catching the ball before it bounced or clapping your hands etc..  making hundreds of DAISY CHAINS...

This is the new 7am view!  We have to drive Duncan 1.5miles to the post office to catch the bus.  It's still dark outside when we leave.  The dash reads 0degrees and the GPS is a glaring reminder that we are in the middle of no where... the dirt road we are driving on isn't even registering on the map. 

By the time we return to the house 15 minutes have passed, the sunrise is a burst of color and the temperature has risen an incredible 2degrees!  We open the car doors to literally a breathtaking chill and hurry in to the fireplace and our hot bowls of porridge which is well received on cold mornings.  

Filling in the Details

Daddy worked in Hawaii for a few weeks and brought back a few fresh pineapples.  

While we gobbled away, slurping the dribble off our chins, we filled him in on all that had occurred while he was away this trip.

Friends went to Brazil and brought us back and new hammock as a thanks for taking care of their pets.

A neighbourhood cat has been stalking me.

It's quite disconcerting to be stared at while washing the dishes.

(I know the solution is to just stop doing dishes!)

Emerson became stuck in a bucket.

It took two people to get him out.

He got stuck a few more times before we confiscated the bucket.

Miles spent days and days in one spot finishing up his extra courses that he took this semester.  Fortunately he enjoyed them.  We often would peek in and seeing him grinning away and when we glanced at the screen, none of us saw anything amusing or pleasant... 

Chemistry, Graphic Design and Microsoft Office Specialist.

To each his own. 

Sarah claimed there wasn't enough space in her room for all her shoes.  Rather than pare down her shoe collection, she opted for opening up a wall and creating new shelves.

On a particularly quiet afternoon, I thought Emerson was napping and assumed Whittaker was playing legos with Duncan.

I was wrong.

Duncan was voraciously reading Harry Potter and the little boys... well, they were stripped down in the sandbox.

Having the time of their lives.

Until it began to rain.  Then they were dancing on the deck trying to rinse off the sand.

Emerson discovered that other people have water bottles identical to his.

He was relieved when we returned home and his was still on his hook.

We spent an ENTIRE saturday doing Scouts.  Miles performed his Native American Hoop Dancing.  Duncan earned two merit badges.  The boys and I played every carnival game known to man, and participated in the dance demonstration, and climbed rock walls, and played on bounce houses, and sawed a tree in half, and generally had a good time.

Unfortunately, as we told Daddy all about our activities... 

His red eye flight and jet lag caught up to him.

New Beginnings

A new school year approached and for the first time in 7 years we were involved in the mayhem of getting ready for school.  It really cut into the end of our summer.   But we made the best of it.  

Kenzie was beginning middle school this year and wanted to sport a new fashionable look.  We hit the stores and found a few good looks..

These were not school approved but they did help with the shopping monotony!

Sarah and Miles moaned the fact that they had a dress code and their school clothes shopping trip wasn't as exciting an experience.  But in an afternoon we were successfully completed. 

Next up was the grooming. 

Sarah had the full treatment with a great hair cut and an eyebrow waxing.

Mackenzie received the home spa treatment as we tried to figure out why her hair seemed so dry and damaged.  We experimented with multiple moisturizing treatments and were finally pleased with some simple natural conditioners.  We practiced a few do's and she was ready for her debut at the middle school.

Cooper, the boy with the fastest growing hair in the west, was simply due for a major hair cutting.  He certainly was the most expressive of the haircuts.  His school neither required a dress code nor did it have an official starting date.   For that matter, depending on the person it has a different name.  For some it is the Noble Academy, others k12, and lately, the  'Bureau of Noble Education' or B.O.N.E. for short.  

Caleb headed out in the real world and went job hunting.  His barber's took great pains to groom him well for his future position in the work force. 

It must have worked.  He landed a fun job at the deli counter at Macey's grocery store.  Best perk?!  He serves the ice cream.

First day of school arrived and they were ready.  Dress code, check.  Backpacks, check.  Looking good, check.  Carpool, check.  Lunch, check.  Off they went....  The house has been quieter... The adjustment has been going well.

Next up was preschool.  He even insisted on wearing his new backpack and packing a lunch like the big kids even though we would only be gone an hour.  We've been talking about preschool ever since summer began and the speech therapist recommended him for a special preschool in the fall.  However on the long awaited day we arrived for our assessment and the little stinker passed with flying colours, so he no longer qualified for the program.  It became his first, last and only day at preschool.  He wasn't completely aware what had happened.  Fortunately we had a backup plan of an online preschool which we are now thoroughly enjoying.  I'm a bit relieved not to have any more school driving and coordinating.  However I am a bit sad with it since I had picked up a few darling school outfits for him and now since he doesn't leave the house he refuses to wear anything but his favourite lounging suit.  He's a fickle one when it comes to his clothes this one!

Change is happening around here.  It seems to be going smoothly so far.  I have one working, one in high school, one in middle school, two that I teach 4th grade to at home with the help of an online charter program, an at home preschooler and the sweetest toddler pattering about the place.  

New Museum

The local Natural History Museum decided that they had outgrown their location and began construction on a new facility.  We received tickets to the grand opening of the new facility.  What a HUGE new museum!  New, interactive displays, classroom areas with activities for further learning.  We visited for over 3 hours and could have stayed longer if I didn't have to get home in time to pick up Caleb from school.  There were a few areas we simply walked through and didn't examine too closely since it was opening day and the museum was rather crowded. 

One of the kids favourite displays was the displays under the floor.  There were areas where the floor was glass and you walked over the displays underneath.  I personally found it a tad disconcerting. 

Since it was opening day, they had different areas set up with post it notes and pencils for comments and suggestions.  In the 'study of the great salt lake' area I noticed a particularly interesting post it note left by another museum visitor. 

I had to admit, it made me wonder if perhaps Jim had visited the museum before us.  This struck me as the type of limerick he would write. 

Just at the end of the visit we noticed a line of people waiting to go in the area marked, staff only.  Then we saw the sign.  "Special collections.  Open to the public today only!"  We joined the line.  They could have opened another museum just as large with all the display items in the special collections that were not out on the museum floor.  The boys and I have different tastes.  We appreciate different displays.  I thought the old Mayan ruins displays were so detailed and interesting.  The boys were enamored by the biology display of creatures and animal parts preserved and displayed in jars with formaldehyde.  I let them go in and look around and I waited by the door.  The smell didn't invite me in.  (it actually made me gag!)

Another exciting part of a grand opening of a new museum is that because of the crowds, the museum had planned ahead for the parking to be mayhem.  So there were multiple parking areas designated for opening day a few blocks away and then we were bussed to the museum in greyhound buses.  The kids were excited as we left to wait for our bus to take us back to our van.  It was fun, from beginning to end. 

Who is Rube Goldberg?

Aside from being the reason that we spent our entire New Year's Eve pulling out our hair.  Apparently he was a brilliant political cartoonist with a scientific mind.  This and the inspiration for a scientific contest that is held annually at many universities.  The physics teacher at Caleb's high school takes each years challenge and presents it to his high school students to give it a go. 

The assignment this year was to create a machine to blow up and pop a balloon using the most elaborate and inventive methods possible with at least 20 steps.  Only one human action to begin the action was allowed.  A step is defined as, the distinct action of a defined force within the machine.  The machine must involve at least 5 different types of force.  The completed project must be videotaped as proceeding from beginning to end without video editing. 

Easy? Right?!?

One might think....

After 40 plus attempts to capture on video, over the course of five hours on New Year's Eve, we finally managed to have success the following year, after only 6 tries the next morning.

Our finished product!!

We also put together a 12 minute gag reel with most of our attempts.  I'm not sure if the agony is portrayed through a 12 minute reel, but when you consider the time in between each take to reset up all the steps, to evaluate what could have gone wrong and to tweak things, also keeping in mind that the brain power behind it all was running a temp of 101, the live studio audience were all recovering from their run in with a flu or nasty cold, and the videographer wished desperately to have her kitchen back for dinner.
 

Please write a note Mum.

(Caleb should be careful what he asks me to do.)


To whom it may concern,

Caleb was more than 15 minutes tardy on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011 because there was confusion with his carpool.  He attends seminary at the West Jordan High school at 6:30 in the morning and walks two blocks to where the arranged meeting place is, to be picked up by his carpool.  He was at the designated location in plenty of time and waited 15 minutes after which time he jogged home, 1 1/2 miles.  He was tired, sweaty and very concerned about the time. The carpool had forgotten to come to the pick up area.  He arrived home at 8:00 am.  Fortunately, I had not left to run errands for the day and was able to load his siblings into the car quickly and I drove him to the high school 10 miles from home. However that takes time and he was indeed over 15 minutes late for school.  We are doing all that we can to arrange his transportation to school and thought we had it arranged.  We are still waiting and hoping to get a spot in the early morning seminary at Paradigm, but as time goes on it isn't looking promising.  We have spoken to the others involved in our carpool and are trying a new system that we hope will aid in avoiding this situation in the future. 

Sorry for the long note. (I'm new at this!  Homeschooled until this year)  Caleb is conscientious and extremely careful to be punctual in all areas of his life, and I know would not be tardy or absent if it was within his power to avoid it! 

I'm not sure if this qualifies as an excused absence or not, but now you can evaluate the reason for his absence and mark it accordingly.

Sincerely,

Calebs' mother

Here comes the sun

Science project time came and Caleb started to talk about doing a volcano or a rocket launch.  I put the kibosh to that line of thinking right away.  It was to be something useful, practical and helpful.  Oh, and something I could benefit from!  So he designed 4 homemade solar ovens and tested their efficiencies.  That's my boy!

Living in Utah, there were plenty of great sunny, clear sky days to test the experiment.  In fact we ran the experiment multiple days to verify our data!  

The professional solar oven.  Caution:  this puppy gets HOT!

Channa loaned us her 'real' solar oven for a test subject to measure our homemade versions effectiveness.  For the purposes of the test we boiled water.  He built his other solar oven options.  It was actually a lot of fun.  There was a lot of shiny aluminum foil!!

The box oven.  This one took the most effort and time to build and required the most supplies.  It was effective and would certainly warm some food but requires constant supervision to correct the angle of the reflector as the sun moves across the sky.

The premise behind the umbrella solar oven is how portable it would be.  This was definitely the dud of the experiment.

This one was the one I was rooting for.  It was lightweight, required very little for creating it or building it.  It's extremely portable and if it was successful could easily be popped into our 72 hour kits. The success rate on this oven was less than perfect....  However we came up with some tweaking ideas as we ran the experiment so I still think it's in the running! 

Now that the experiment is over, I'm for testing out our tweaking theories and baking a cake!!  Solar ovens really work!  It's really quite exciting but require you to be on top of checking the angle periodically so that the food continues to bake consistently.  Obviously best used during the daylight hours!

Field Trips that come to you!

Today's field trip was sponsored by the city of West Jordan's Fire Department!

Channa stopped by to drop off some special cargo left in her van from our latest vacation (ok... some stashed away sticks the kids had convinced Grandma to smuggle for them!)  As we were chatting in the driveway for a minute we noticed that the hydrant was bubbling and the ground around it was very wet.

Tough to see the water bubbling on the top of the hydrant but the ground all around was definitely saturated, it wouldn't even soak up the water anymore and all around was very dry!

She left and called from two blocks away and confirmed that it was only our hydrant and not a fire department test of some kind that she could tell.  I called the non emergency fire dept. number and then the kids all rode bikes while we waited for someone to come!

Come they did.  The fire truck and four fire fighters!  They got right to work, fixed the hydrant while the group of neighbourhood kids peppered them with questions.

 

Then the firefighters asked, "Who wants to see us do a ladder drill?"

Cheers of yes and the firefighters got ready.  They said they would have the ladder up in just under a minute.  That ladder is VERY long!

I asked one of the fire fighters if they ride the ladder as it goes up to save time.  He says they used to until a firefighter got his foot caught in the moving parts of the ladder and he lost his foot.  So now they wait until it is up to climb. 

Then the kids were treated to a full tour of the truck and all it's capabilities.  They tried on the uniform and got to see inside the truck cab as well as all the tools and special equipment the truck has.

They were telling about how the truck also holds water (I didn't pay attention to exactly how much), but it was at this time that one of the firefighters said... "We gotta go!"  And they were packed up and ready to take off, lickety split!

No there wasn't another call to a fire or leaky hydrant.

One of the firefighters had noticed that their big heavy truck was sinking into our newly paved asphalt road!  oops...

Just a note to say....

Today we had a lesson about the proper way to write a note or letter.

Greeting,
Body of message written in clear and concise sentences.
Signature
Name

I required 3 different notes to be sure that it was understood.  We gave MANY examples!  It took all afternoon to convince Duncan to write something other than,

Dear (insert any girl in his class at church name here)
I like you.
your friend,
Duncan

then I had to go to the Dr. office with Whittaker and on the 30 minute drive I composed my own.

Dear Spring,

I love the green buds on the trees.  I love to wake to the sound of the chirping birds.  I love that the daffodils and tulips have finally made an appearance.  I have enjoyed the warm sunlight and being able to walk outside without having to wear all my clothes at once.  I enjoy sitting outside with the baby on a blanket while I type up blogs watch my children play.  I am so glad that you have arrived. 

I was however unprepared for today's rain.  It was very wet.  I forgot my umbrella.  I was grateful that I had my leaky roof repaired last week though, so that the rain was only outdoors this time.  Tomorrow I think I will check the weather report before leaving the house in open toed shoes.

Drenched,
Nova

sigh, My head hurts.

At the end of a long day, at the end of a long week, I long to feel finished. I wish that was how I felt. I was supposed to have the CD's made for the Primary activity tomorrow... maybe Sunday will have to do... I just never got to them... I was hoping to print out the FHE schedule for the year... I never got to that either... I was also hoping this week to get some semblance of order back in the house... I found the living room after I put away Christmas. I found my bedroom after I did 9 loads of laundry. I found the kitchen and then lost it again, because while I work with Caleb and take care of Whittaker, I've allowed Sarah and Miles to prepare the meals. The rest of the house continues to be missing... lost in the shuffle of one project or another. I don't even look forward to Saturday to relax knowing that Patrick will finally be back in town.... because the day is already booked solid with a select few moments in it long enough for breathing before getting to the next thing.

Caleb is preparing for his first set of high school final exams. While reviewing all his coursework, there are also the end of semester big projects to complete. As his 'learning coach', as they refer to me in his internet classes, I'm finding myself wondering how it is I don't know the things I'm supposed to be assisting him with. How is it that I've never even considered some of these things. I realize I wasn't a braniac in high school, but I never flunked anything. I paid attention and got the general idea.

So why don't I remember anything about types of rocks present in geological cross cuts, and how they can relate the history of the earth's atmosphere? Was I sick that day? Is this common knowledge discussed behind my back? Seriously, he has to know this stuff? What happened to memorizing the periodic table?

Ok fine... a poor example. So what is the weather pattern being forecasted in the following cities which lie in a straight line from west to east from Chicago, IL, to Pittsburgh, PA. Using the available data of temp., pressure and current weather conditions, predict Pittsburgh's weather for the next 48 hours.
Did I miss the day he entered meteorology101? I'm still trying to keep up with Miles science classes study of weather. I've learned more this year than I ever did in any classroom. With Miles I'm learning about cumulonimbus clouds, how to make hygrometers, and barometers and what their purposes are. With Sarah I've learned about the moons gravitational influence on the ocean and the tides. Now with Caleb... well I'm not sure if I'm learning or not.. I'm definitely flummoxed with each assignment.

We worked all day. Caleb has a dreadful sore throat, a racking cough and would like nothing more than to curl up in a ball and sleep but these deadlines are looming and we're reading everything we can find to try to understand the concepts so that we can do the projects successfully and then return to reviewing for his final exams next week.

Talk to me in about 10 years.... I ought to know everything by then!

As far as celebrating holidays every day goes...... Thankfully today was bubble bath and English toffee day and that is exactly what this aching, aging body needs.... and luckily I know where Patrick's Christmas orange with English toffee is still stashed... ha ha ha ha

Room for Improvement - Backlog blog

One of the assignments for Caleb's classes was to evaluate his work environment. Such an assignment couldn't have come at a worse time. We were glad that the assignment grade was based on his evaluation of the environment and not on the environment itself! While Grandma was visiting, she and I spent more hours a day working on her computer projects than we ever did sleeping. New baby demands time and is definitely a distraction for each of us. I wasn't as focused on the boys school as I ought to be so there were quite a few days of them playing educational games more than actual educating! My efforts this summer while I was the size of an elephant to finish putting the school room together the way I wanted were well intentioned, but I didn't quite finish... still waiting for the free time to finish the office.

This is what he sent off as his evaluation. I'm sure they were impressed... doesn't everyone wish they could work in such a chaotic place?

What you can't see in the picture is the stench from the dog... Grandma spoils Opus with table scraps and she pays us back with nasty smells. Another would be the sound of Caleb's lectures for some of his classes over the internet. The sounds of the boys games. The tummy rumblings from each of us since Grandma and I often would put off meals.. for just another few minutes... again and again as we worked endlessly on the computer. Or the phone calls that interrupt our focus.

Sarah of course has solved all of this by taking her school books to her room... Caleb would love to do that... he just needs a computer for so much of his school and I won't let them have internet access computers in their bedrooms... still working on that solution!

Metaphorically speaking...

Sarah was having a difficult time grasping some literary concepts... We spent a lunch hour coming up with similes and she seems to have caught on. The difference between figurative and literal language clicked and we continued the lesson. Metaphors stumped her. We didn't pursue the lesson any further for the day as we were spent and had much to accomplish in other areas.

After Sam's wedding reception, we returned home with the intention of doing some apple canning late into the night. We found Channa sprawled on the living room floor. We joined her and attempted to forget the apples jeering at us from the kitchen. (personification!!) The subject of Sarah's difficulty with metaphors came up. Channa, who is known for her 5 mile brain tried to no avail to give us an example of a metaphor. Now perplexed, she had to solve the dilemma. Caleb had been reclining on the couch like a sloth on a tree limb. (simile!!) We lazily convinced him to retrieve the text book so we could move on from this brain piercing issue.

The examples in the book were lame at best. The definition confusing. Then one example caught our eye and we had it. Now we were spewing metaphors like seeds from an overly seeded watermelon.(simile!!)

Sarah is a pencil. (metaphor) Sarah is as thin as a pencil. (simile)
Miles is a calculator. (metaphor) Miles can compute numbers as well as a calculator.(simile)
Sarah is a rabbit. (metaphor) Sarah eats veggies and salads like a hungry rabbit. (simile)
Whittaker is a worm. (metaphor) Whittaker wiggles like a worm. (simile)
Mummy is an ogre. (metaphor) Mummy is as mean as an ogre. (simile)
Whittaker is a monster. (metaphor) Whittaker wakes in the night like a monster that robs me of sleep. (simile)
Caleb is sloth. (metaphor) Caleb lounges in the living room as lazily as a sloth in a tree. (simile)
Duncan is a pig. (metaphor) Duncan eats pancakes like a drift of pigs arriving at their trough of slop.(simile)
Channa is a walking encyclopedia. (metaphor) Channa is as knowledgeable as a walking and talking encyclopedia. (simile)
Patrick is a porcupine. (metaphor) Patrick's face is as prickly as a porcupine.(simile)
Cooper is a stick. (metaphor) Cooper's skeletal frame is as thin as sticks. (simile)
Opus is a vacuum. (metaphor) Opus eats food off the floor as speedy as a vacuum cleaner! (thankfully!, simile)
Paige is a tyrant. (metaphor) Paige torments me about blog content like an unrelenting and stern tyrant!(simile)

Apples are everywhere. ... (FACT)

It's Christmas in July

If only I could get off this easy with their real Christmas in December!

SCHOOL SUPPLIES!

Their boxes of things arrived today and they couldn't wait a moment to dig into the boxes and look at all the text books and other supplies. It's not even crayons and paints.. it's textbooks, a map, a french/english dictionary... for Duncan a little more exciting.. letter and word tiles and math cubes, magnetic boards and wipe erase boards, and a magnifying glass..


Sarah quickly set hers up nicely on her shelf, organized by subject.

Duncan was obviously the most excited and it felt like first day of school for him.. he was ready to go. "What's my first assignment?" Since I didn't have one... he invited his little neighbour friend over so they could do some school... They spent the next 2 hours 'doing' school!.

Miles was a little more interested in standing on the big box of supplies and then later in popping each of the air filled pockets packed with the supplies... He did bring all of his things in to have Sarah help him put them on his shelf for him though!

Caleb's starts high school this year and so his things won't arrive for another month but he played it cool... and was almost as excited for Duncan's things as Duncan was.... ok.. not so excited but he did volunteer to use his pocket knife to open each of their boxes for them.

I hope they're this excited when I tell them it's time to really start using the supplies for school!

Another perspective

So the Christmas break is over.... as I've read on others blogs and talked to people. Most of the mothers are looking forward to tomorrow for the peace and calm that will come after the morning chaos is over of getting the kids off to school....

There is a part of me wondering if I would be anxiously looking forward to that also... instead of getting up and getting through the morning routine and teaching school to children who have done nothing but play and become addicted to the wii for the last week! Somehow the first day back is likely the toughest on the teacher... and here I am the teacher while all the other mothers are going back to bed, going to the salon, sitting down with their cup of hot cocoa with their feet up.. (yes I can picture the other mothers however I like) But then the realization that we could just say HA HA HA to all those other people and call tomorrow Homeschoolers don't start til' noon day! (cause another perk to home schooling is that I get to make up the rules, the holidays and anything else I want)

And then I checked the calendar to be sure that starting at noon wouldn't interupt a scheduled nap or hot cocoa break... and realized.... we'll be getting up just like everyone else tomorrow, hurrying through our morning and getting out the door.... to go to the dentist!... It's the annual check up! So no one is spared! I'm pretty sure the kids would prefer to start school!

Guinea Pigs

So I homeschool my children with a great program called k12.com... I'm all about free and this is amazingly the best curriculum around AND it's totally free! I'm not a big preschool person... Caleb never went, Sarah never went, Miles did a joyschool thing... (homeschool preschool), and Duncan I wouldn't bother with either except he's bored and older than his years.

Duncan was born after the ridiculous cut off date here in Utah of Sept. 1st... only 25 days after! So even though I homeschool we can't order the curriculum for him to start school this year..... Oh well... I'm sure I can keep him occupied with worthwhile educational endeavors anyway.
While at the library.. which we are at a lot... I saw a flyer for a free preschool... Free is of course what caught my eye. Then come to find out it's the exclusive Waterford Private School offering a free class three days a week Sept. to April as a research program... So if I'm willing to let Duncan be a guinea pig, he can attend Waterford preschool for free.

Duncan and Cooper started preschool last week!


They are excited and are loving it. It is almost entirely on computers and it's solely so they can gather data and the differences in children attending is as diverse as it comes! Channa and I take turns driving since it is downtown. Don't tell the boys it's just a research program... they love going to their computer school!


**********CHANNA SEND ME THE PICS OF THEM AT SCHOOL!! *******************