We've been going out daily to playgroups through Las Madres, a non-profit that sets up playgroups by birth year and city. I was ambitious and as a trial member joined the chapter for our town as well as two neighboring towns. Each chapter has activities and events that the moms plan one or two months ahead. Mostly the events are play groups or field trips with a smattering of mom's nights out and book clubs. Since the groups are rather large, the meeting places are usually local parks. Mia and I go to a park almost everyday to meet with the moms and babies. It has been a great way to force me to learn the roads and check out the local parks.
We are taking Little Panda, Mandarin Music class that meets on Tuesday afternoons. Coincidentally one of our neighbors is in the class and her little girl is two, so we formed a Mandarin playgroup that meets on Wednesdays. A gal I became acquainted with from the Bay Area Wellesley alum listserv, the wife of a friend from college and a woman I met at one of the churches we are considering are part of the group too. We all hope our kids will become better Mandarin speakers than ourselves.
Next Thursday we start Bright Beginnings, a parent participation preschool. Though disappointed that I could not find a true co-op to attend with Mia (and irked after all the legwork I did in Seattle to get into Wedgwood Co-op with Sue and Poppy), I think I am going to like it. Mia, she could care less, she's always game for anything and happy no matter what....just like her Papa. Mia and I will go to Bright Beginnings for 2.5 hours a week. I attended the Orientation tonight. The teacher has 19 years of experience at the school and was a parent who participated with her four children prior to becoming a teacher there. While I observed the school prior to enrolling, I observed a different teacher. However, based on my assessment after Orientation, Teacher Natalie seems to be one of those veteran teachers who is VERY opinionated and authoritative, but deserves to be that way because she truly knows what she is doing. She expressed that her main purpose for the kids is the process and enjoyment of building a community or making friends. Her rules for the toddlers are simple, outdoor toys stay outdoors, indoor toys stay indoors and only eat at the table. There are many more "rules" for the adults. More on that at another time. Parents and adults need to have the kids clean up after themselves while making them believe it's all part of the fun and experience at school. I love routine and structure for the little ones and was that sort of teacher myself so I think I will be getting along nicely with Teacher Natalie. The only odd thing was Teacher Natalie went off--I would almost describe it as a tirade--on filtered water and the bottled water industry saying U.S. tap water is heavily regulated and the safest water in the world so it does not need to be filtered. Bottled water sits on trucks in plastic with the sun beating down on it, blah blah blah. I could let myself be offended by her remarks about third world countries and their tap water versus the safety standards in the U.S., but I'll let that go for now. Anyway, all this after a parent's simple question about how often the school changes the Brita filters. Personally, I found the tap water in Seattle, New York and Boston (all the places I've lived) taste a thousand times better than tap water here in Sunnyvale. So I am not ashamed to own a Brita.
One of the churches we are considering attending has a playgroup every Friday for toddlers that we've enjoyed going to. It's really nice to fellowship with other women and there's something to be said for playing in a home that is a smaller group setting. Mia enjoys the change in scenery and playing with new toys. She always seems to be able to pick out the Elmo toys immediately. Papa is signed up to take Gym Kids (like Gymboree) with Mia on Saturday mornings starting September. I'm still looking into swimming and perhaps Kindermusik, but I don't want to be overscheduled either. Right now our Mondays and Fridays are free for errands, random appointments, and out of town visitors.
Despite all our activity and efforts to make new friends, Mia misses her almost daily play dates and field trips with her first BFF (Best Friend Forever) Poppy. We are sad to not spend more time with Maddie and meet her new baby sister Jaclyn. Little A.J who shares Mia's birthday is also growing by leaps and bounds and we wish we were there to witness it. Papa has a trip planned to Seattle next week and we wish we could join him.
Here are some pics of Mia's life in California.
Playing in her cheapo blow-up pool that Papa blew up with his own breath
At a park playdate with the Cupertino Las Madres group
Lunching at Pebble Beach with Grandpa Song, not a regular event by any means, but certainly exciting and fun.
Outside of San Tung (Ken's all time favorite restaurant in SF) with Ken's cousin Min and his son Johan who visited from Boston.
No comments:
Post a Comment