Why I love Montessori!

On Thursday, Scott, Keane and I had the opportunity to go into Colsen's classroom @ Park Rd. Public Montessori. Colsen is in Pre-K this year (they start them at age 4!) and his class is about 25 kids... at least half of whom are Kindergarteners. He has grown up so much being with the older kids all year. He's reading, he's reciting poetry, and he is just maturing in so many ways. He's also discovered new ways to get in trouble. As hard as it was for me to let him start going to "big school" after he had JUST turned 4, I'm so glad we did! So, one of the things I most appreciate about the Montessori program is it's emphasis on QUALITY over QUANTITY. Taking time to make each moment and learning experience special is one of the things I love about his classroom. We loved watching how the kids just drink in this little birthday tradition they do in their class. The teachers encourage us at home to not load our kids down with a bunch of stuff, but rather to take time with them...playing, learning, imagining, reading. LOVE IT! Since Colsen's birthday is August 14, his class celebrated his bday in May. See video above. The end of the video is the sweetest part. I just love this school!!!!

They had us bring in a picture for every year from colsen's birth and then every birthday. 

After this little celebration, they passed each picture around and talked about it and then displayed it on the board. I just melts our hearts!

Keane was pretty loud during the filming (as usual) so we were trying to bribe him w/ food most of the time.

 

After the little celebration, all the kids stood up and recited poetry (by memory of course) and then after a little story time, we all went to the cafeteria for lunch. Colsen chose chocolate chip oatmeal cookies as his birthday treat for us to make & bring in to school to share. 

(yay for not having to ice cupcakes!!!)

...and better yet, our favorite  chocolate chip oatmeal cookies on the planet are made from a package! [Seriously, we started making these years ago and every time we bring them somewhere people flip for them. I couldn't make better from scratch, but that's not saying much.

Just a side note: we like the cookies better made with canola oil than with butter- they just come out better for some reason] 

Anyway, what is just really the sweetest is that the whole time we were in his class or in the cafeteria Colsen was all about sitting on our laps, holding our hands, giving us kisses and hugs...

he's just not yet at that age where he's embarrassed of us. I'm sure that's coming soon. 

So we drank it in. If you live in the area and are considering entering your child in the lottery for Public Montessori, DO IT! 

They are making plans to possibly start a 3 yr. old program at Park Rd. soon. I don't know if I'll be able to part with 

Keane enough to do it if it were an option, but given this year's experience with Colsen, I know it would be amazing relationally and educationally for him. 

I would say this school has been one of this year's greatest blessings by far. I'm also heading into next school year with 

the role of "Community Outreach Co-Chair" for the PTO. I actually have no idea what that 

means but I know that we will be organizing coat-drives and different opportunities to serve kids in need in Charlotte- I'm excited. 

Hopefully we can tag team with some of the justice initiatives that Watershed is already doing! (I vote yes at least and I guess that means something now?). 

In the arms of the angels...

On Thursday, our family received a heart-wrenching call.

Scott's stepbrother's two and a half year old son, Kaden, was tragically killed. The details are too awful to even put into words. There was a brief article written about it in a Buffalo newspaper. 

Scott's stepmom was babysitting at the time of the accident and from the moment we received the call we can't stop thinking/crying/praying for their family, especially Kaden's mommy & daddy and his sweet Grandma Hofert. What words could possibly bring comfort? We only can say that if we shed a million tears for his family it would not be enough to even measure the sorrow of the loss of this precious little boy...

Scott is heading out early tomorrow morning with his brothers to Buffalo to attend the wake and funeral. I wish I could be with them.

I had the sweet privilege of spending a little time the past few years with Kaden. I think maybe we met him when he was a tiny baby during a visit to Buffalo, but then we had the chance to play at the beach with him when he was about 1 or so. This little blonde, blue-eyed little sweet boy who was the apple of his mommy and daddy's eye. I remember his daddy even carried a cool "man-diaper-bag" camo print. That takes a real man to have his own diaper bag :)

Here's a pic of the whole fam at the beach that summer for Kaden's uncle's wedding. 

Kaden is way in the background being held (little blondie). Colsen is the little blondie standing in the front. What a sweet rainbow-filled day. I remember Kaden's mommy, Jen, telling us how she went back to work after Kaden was born and then couldn't bear to leave him and ended up quitting her job to be with him. 

 Everytime we talk with Scott's Dad and stepmom we would hear stories about Kaden and how much they enjoyed their time with him. Kaden had Scott's dad wrapped around his tiny little finger too. I remember Kaden's mommy & daddy telling us how he liked to get up early in the morning and "shave" with his daddy. Since his daddy worked late at night, he'd spend morning time with him. 

Then this past Thanksgiving, Scott and I and our boys had the joy of sitting at the "kids table" with Kaden and his daddy. Kaden loves his dog and was convinced that he also was a dog so he ate his entire Thanksgiving dinner without any use of his hands...just like his doggie. And what was sweeter, his daddy let him...and just smiled. They had such a special sweet bond. I also remember thinking how much Kaden and Colsen looked related even though they're only related via step-grandparents...amazing.

I remember about three and a half years ago now, some friends of ours lost their sweet baby girl, Indigo. My friend Donna and I sang at the funeral and I can't remember much about the funeral service due to the weight of the sorrow and tears, especially as I was a new mom at the time. But, I do remember Indigo's dad, Kevin, saying ( I can't quote him exactly) that she was such a happy 2 year old... and the saddest part is that she'd always be two. 

And so, at only 2 years old, another little angel is now in the arms of the angels. God, we don't know why. We could flood the planet with our tears and we just beg you to bring comfort somehow to Kaden's mommy and daddy and grammy and grandpa...and aunts and uncles and cousins and baby sister and little friends. Wrap your giant supernatural arms around them and allow every good sweet memory of that sweet little tow-headed, doggie-wanna be, love-of-his-family's life boy to fill their hearts in these upcoming incomprehensible days. May your mommy be so grateful that she dropped everything to be with you. May your daddy delight for every morning shave your shared, may your little soul continue to be a light that brings your family together in your memory.

And Kaden, next Thanksgiving, we're all going without silverware in honor of you, little precious boy. 

All our love to you and your family.

sweet decisions

So I just got Colsen & Keane's proofs back today from some pictures they had taken this week. My mom runs a preschool in town and gets me a "family" discount with the school photographer. I have an amazing camera, but I really don't know what I'm doing with it. I need to go to the photography (oh! snap) bloc @ watershed (my sis lauren leads it!), take a class, do more...but in the meantime I'll just let other people take them while I stand on my head behind the photographer to try to get keane to smile. I'll post all the proofs in a facebook album if you'd like to see. Here's some of my faves. I'd love your thoughts on which ones you like best. I have to pick one of Colsen, one of Keane , and one of them together. If you've ever been in our house you'll see that we're running out of wall space due to our affection for gigantic b & w pics of our kids/fam/friends. It's hilarious. Can't afford art? Overdue the whole picture thing. Every time I take a new picture of the boys and decide to put it up in the house, I fret over making the decision which picture should come down so that I can reuse the frame. I can't bear to take down the 4 month old Colsen to put up the 4 year old Colsen and at this rate, we'll look like crazy people if we keep buying and hanging this many frames. I'll keep Ikea in Charlotte in business for years to come. And Scott, my minimalist husband, surprisingly, is worse than I am in the whole picture dept. Each time a school picture comes home or we take a nice shot, he wants to order 10 in every size and have them blown up and hang them everywhere. We're crazy. But I guess it's a good crazy. 

Colsen is just becoming such a little independent smart guy. His constantly churning mind keeps me on my toes.

..the questions are incessant and adorable. Tonight

 we read the Last Supper story out of his Kids StoryBook Bible (thanks to my buddy Sarah Caton for telling us about it! (btw if you have or know a kid, you have to get them this bible...it makes me cry..the

 illustrations are awesome, not cheesy, and they theologically GET IT when tying the OT & NT together)- it's called "THE JESUS STORYBOOK BIBLE: EVERY STORY WHISPERS HIS NAME" 

It's just amazing watching him take it all in...ask the questions

 he asks. Then there's Keane, my little jolly Bean & chunk. He's

 really starting to talk more...he laughs at everything and 

makes a lot of faces involving a scrunchy nose. His vocab is limited to pretty much "ma

ma, dada, chocolate (that's my boy), col-col, grandpa, papa, cookie, uhoh,etc. " - but the other night when I was rocking him to sleep, I was singing "Silent Night" (I run out of tunes and go for the carols) and every time 

I said "NIGHT" he said "Night-Night" - I could bite him. I do bite him.  He belly laughs all day. Here's a sample. It's awesome. Here's some of his pics w/ Colsen 

and his on his own. He's not as big on smiling for 

the camera yet..  The other day on twitter, one of my friends from Watershed, Maybelline, listed 

a bunch of people she follows on "follow friday". Not sure if you're

 familiar with how that works, but people will list a bunch of people who they follow on "follow friday" and then list a one or two word description of them. I met Maybelline through our book club @ Watershed and she is just an amazing woman. She's inspired me to one day make the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage and her depth of thought and writing floors me. ANYWAY, I am so new 

to Twitter and still wet behind the ears as to how it all works, but somehow I made it on her "Follow Friday" list. And next to "@TarynHofert" there was my 2 word description ..."cool mom". I chuckled as I read it in my Red Sox hat and food stained shirt. I haven't felt cool since the 80's..and why I did

 back then is still foggy when I look at pictures. But I told Scott

 that "Follow Friday" night, I've had a lot of titles in my life...but I think that one was one of the sweetest. So, thanks, Maybelline

. I'm far from cool, but even you saying that my kids give you "infanticipation" makes me smile ear to ear. 

I feel like moving to Charlotte has allowed me to take on some new roles, new opportunities...

 and in all the chaos of starting Watershed, figuring out how to help/serve and balance a "home life" I can't get over how much t motherhood fits more than any role I've had before. Who knew. I sure didn't. So, help me pic a picture (I have to narrow it down to three!). 

Earth Day's the new New Year's Day

NOTE: I’m a procrastinating perfectionist. Or at least that’s how I make myself feel better about not finishing things but strategizing in my mind how the task should be done “well”. I wrote this first blog entry New Year’s Eve as I watched the ball drop (exciting household, eh?). But I didn’t finish it, and only 4 months later I am trying to hop on board the Blog Train.

So, for years I’ve toyed with blogging. The closest I’ve ever gotten is a note or two on facebook and several attempts at picking out layouts on blogger.com then forgetting my sign in info and passwords. I was more concerned with the color scheme and picking from the various array of spiffy layouts (polka-dots or formal, modern or torn edge looking stuff) than what I’d actually blog about. ha. That’s so me. 

I think because I’m not one to read others’ blogs that much I sort of can’t imagine how/why people would want to read what I would blog. But it’s a new world and when I look into my boys’ eyes I think that they’ll grow up in a world that blogged before they were born-- and me? Well, ancient mom grew up in a world where I remember getting a Commodore 64 in elementary school and that was THE STUFF. I printed pictures of snoopy out on a dot matrix printer with the kind of paper that you rip off those perforated dot-edge things - i remember popping Eddie Rabbit 8-tracks in our oldsmobile toronado and singing “i love a rainy night” with my mom in the car. Yes, i had a turntable in my room and sang “you light up my life” every time i set the needle down. I’ll tell them these things and they’ll roll their eyes and think i’m from another planet. Resisting blogging is like our grandparents referring to the rock music as “that noisy trash” - it’s tim

e for me to get with it I guess. (And Grandpa Wally, I wish you could have listened to Coldplay, I think you would have liked them alot.)

And so, I can already say that I know that I won’t be a consistent blogger...I’m a mom to 2 boys, a husband to a self-proclaimed “requires-much-attention” husband, a church planter, volunteer church staff member, musician, amateur humanitarian, house fixer-upper, PTO member, sometimes-helpful neighbor, bargain hunter, friend-who-doesn’t-answer-the-phone-much, yada yada. I’m not sitting in coffee shops quietly reflecting on deep thoughts on a daily basis...in fact, I’m not sure if there’s a time I AM alone in my week...and if I was, I think my eyes would be closed! Sometimes I type right here on the kitchen table while food is being flung at me for just a moment of sanity...a respite from the madness...a little outlet. I am sitting at such place this moment.

I do know one thing...had I sent out a Christmas letter (like so many of our good friends do!)...it would have been a book, not a page. So much is happening in our lives...so much has taken place in just this one year, so much is simmering in my heart...that sometimes I just don’t know where to start. Ah, WHERE TO START.... how ‘bout I just think about it ‘til April. ha.

That was the other problem for me with blogging. What to call the blog? I mean, once I remembered my password and found a layout, etc. - the name means more to me than anything. (You see nomenclature is my wanna-be hobby. I love it. I could have more children just to name them...but alas my husband is not on board with that idea.) If you want my list of baby names I’ll never get to use, call me. (unless, of course, God answers my prayers that someone will leave a baby on my doorstep, but that’s a whole other story)

Back to the blog-naming... In the middle of feeding my 1 year old lunch and my 4 year old bombarding me

 with questions about Batman that I had no business answering, I became overwhelmed at how full (& crazy) my life is. It also hit me how there was nothing at that moment I’d rather be doing. Which, when I think back on all the “dreams” I have had at various times in my life, just kinds of tickles me. Then the perfect name, as well as a variation of a lyric from one of my favorite songs (not to mention one of my favorite musicians on the planet), just kind of came to mind...

“UNDER JEALOUS SKY”

The whole idea of life here on earth being so rich, full & meaningful that even the sun shining above is looking down in envy from “his jealous sky”. Well written, Mr. Sumner-- can I be your backup singer in the next life?

You see, I love the idea of quiet reflection and journaling...but I also don’t want the food-flinging or Batman litany of questions or Watershed craziness to stop. I love it. It’s my life. I don’t want to change it and most of all I don’t want to miss one minute of it by not being completely present & whole-hearted. Passionately, intentionally, completely living - and in what little blog-following I do, I just can’t seem to find many women blogging on anything to which I can truly relate. Then, a few years ago when I first moved to Charlotte, I stumbled upon Dooce.com. And, I was hooked. I don’t think I’ll touch her level of bloggy nirvana, but in 2009 I hope to maybe provoke a little thought in the realm of being a woman who loves God & life & people (no matter how small) ALOT. Also...an ordinary person who loses stuff (often), cusses (more than I should), sings a little too loud, loves Charles Shaw like a brother, has to limit my Target visits, is an informercial-addict, and loves to laugh hard. 

I have no idea what i’ll blog about. A friend, Nikki Hogsed, told me that she mostly blogs about family and then prints out the blog each year as a scrapbook. As I’ve never scrapbooked one thing nor do I have one photo in a photo album of my children, I love this idea. I take the pictures, but I’m still strategizing on what to do with them. STRATEGERY I say.

 Maybe this blog will be more about my kids and informing my fam about them...or maybe not. Maybe I’ll have a quarterly blog at the rate I’m going. Whatever the year holds, I think I’ve just broken the record for the longest blog entry ever written.

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone- or should I say HAPPY EARTH DAY.

(To all my fellow-procrastinators. April’s not too late to get crack-a-lackin on your resolutions!)