Moira started preschool this year at the Children's Museum in addition to the Y. She's going to each school two days a week. We're really happy with both programs because they add a lot of variety to Moira's days. We are particularly excited about sending her to the Children's Museum preschool because of their Reggio Emilia philosophy, object-based learning, and the fact that they use the Museum as their classroom.
Waiting for orientation
She loves hugging any characters she sees!
First thing she does when she comes in--she writes her name.
Moira is already learning so much from her preschool experiences. A month ago she couldn't write any letters, and now she can write her name pretty legibly. She's learning the calendar and the days of the week, and she's doing so much more artwork now too. It's pretty amazing to see how just a couple of months make such a huge difference in her world.
Another perk of the Children's Museum Preschool is that we get to participate in Family Learning Days. The first day was "A Day in the Life of your Preschooler." We experienced the daily talk, museum visit, centers, free choice, a book, the talking ball, and more! I learned so much from Moira's teachers in just 2 hours about things I could do at home to make sure the girls are learning as much as they can. It was so much fun.
Hannah fit right in! She didn't miss a beat.
The preschool "house" and "couch" where you can read stories
Circle time with Moira and her class
After Circle Time, we all went to "Take Me There: Egypt" to experience a Sebou. A Sebou is an Egyptian family celebration of a new baby. The families celebrate by bringing the baby gifts, wearing special clothes, and making LOUD noises to wake the baby's senses. All the kids had the opportunity to wear galabeyas inside a room that resembles a room in an Egyptian house, and they each gave the baby a special gift that was placed on a table. Then, we ended the celebration by playing instruments in a long parade.
The Sebou actors telling us about the celebration
Moira after giving her gift to celebrate the "new baby"
Moira donning her galabeya
Getting ready for the parade
Aunt Jean was in town too!
After the Sebou, we came back to the classroom and did "centers." There was a matching game that consisted of all of the preschoolers' photos, a math pattern game, and play-doh for the creative center. After having a great time working with Moira on all of these centers, we had free time. Moira chose to trace letters, which delighted me, of course. We closed with reading a great book, and singing the "na-na-na-na...goodbye" song. All in all, it was a great morning.
I am still playing catch-up from all the photos we took over the holidays, and I have a few random ones that I want to share! Here they are: Moira's first official haircut. She was so good. I wasn't sure she would sit still, but she did. The stylist did a great job of keeping her entertained! Moira walking around in her "shoes." Moira is fascinated with shoes. She loves taking our shoes on and off. And she loves walking around in adult shoes. We went to the Eiteljorg on Martin Luther King day and Moira had fun exploring the Wild Wild West. You may recall that Moira's 2nd birthday party was pretty entertaining because Moira fell asleep in her high chair, and then she was completely overwhelmed by everyone singing Happy Birthday. Since then, we have had lots of family and friend birthdays, and she has mastered singing Happy Birthday. At this point, she sings Happy Birthday to just about anyone and anything--babies at a restaurant, the light, the birds......
Hannah, You, my darling baby girl, are growing up entirely too fast. By the time you were one, here’s what you were up to: On the Move Well, truth be told, you haven’t been that interested in moving. You’re quite content to reach both arms in the air and look imploringly at mama or dada to pick you up. By the time you were 5 months, you rolled over, and by the time you were 10 months, you finally decided to crawl. Since then, you’ve become a very quick little girl on your knees, and you’re just starting to consider standing up and walking on your own. One of the cutest things you do is crawl while holding onto a baby stroller—it is quite a feat! I predict you’ll be about 16 months old before you walk, and that is fine with me. What did you say? Hannah, you are a talker. At a year old you have a few words in your vocabulary. They include the traditional words like “mama” and “dada.” Your very first word, however, was “Mo-ra” in honor of your big sister,...
It's hard to believe Moira is already 5 weeks old (today)! Here 's a quick recap: October 14th, 9:32am, Moira Joan Mackintosh came into the world. She was a healthy 7 lb, 14 oz, and 20.5 inches long. My labor was fast, but delivery was slower than I would have liked. On the whole, neither Moira nor I can complain . October 16th, we came home. I discovered after a couple of sleepless nights that Moira would only sleep for about 15 minutes in her bassinet. She preferred sleeping on someone or sleeping in her little swing. The first few weeks went by in a complete blur. We were all trying to get used to a new kind of normal. Moira and I spent a lot of time trying to figure out her preferences for eating and sleeping. Alan spent a lot of time trying to help his girls get as comfy as possible. We've had fun discovering the little things about Moira. She has dimples and so much dark hair. She has the cutest high-pitched hiccups. She loves it when her Dad holds her and paces with...
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