Jake and the Lake

They may have 80 years between them, but Pop and Jake both have good taste in hats. We had another fun weekend down at the lake. Even with the sub-freezing temperatures, we did some sled-riding, hot tub relaxng, and swimming in the indoor pool. It was the first time in four months since Jake had been swimming, but he remembered his kicks and did great in his water wings. Sadie was a little apprehensive, but after a couple of minutes she was having fun in her little floater too.

Today Ali and I had to act like responsible parents and start thinking about preschool for Jake. Three-year-old preschool starts in September and registration starts next month for most schools. Ali had visited several preschools last fall, but today we were going to look at two Montessori schools. Maria Montessori was an Italian scholar/educator who developed a new method of learning in the early 20th century based on child directed activities. In the classes we observed, the kids were all busy working at their stations, while the teachers observed and guided as necessary. The classrooms combine kids aged three to five, and encourage the older kids to mentor the younger kids. Instead of the standard toys, there are "activity stations" where they can work on geography, math and reading, as well as household activities like cutting flowers and washing dishes. We both really liked the look and feel of the classrooms, which replaced plastic with wood wherever possible, and created an environment that encouraged the kids to be independent and learn at their own pace. But, all that warm and fuzzy turns out to be pretty expensive. Let's just say it's the difference between an iPhone and regular old cell phone. And of course you want your kid to have the iPhone when it comes to education, but then you have to think: "that iPhone is pretty neat, but they'll still be able to make calls and check their voicemail with that regular cell phone." Ok, full disclosure: this is coming from someone that really wanted an iPhone but couldn't justify the cost.

So, after long discussions with Ali, we came to the conclusions that Jake is such a fun, inquisitive, smart, friendly kid, that these schools should pay US to let him go there. We're in the process of working on that sales pitch. We'll let you know how it goes....