different preschools for different children.

I don't know about y'all, but I am already thinking of preschool for Audrey and well she isn't quite 2 yet!!  I know it's crazy, I mean it's not like we live in a city where you need to get on the list when you get pregnant, but education is important.  I mean I have 2 degrees, and would one day love to get a 3rd, a DMA, but that is not the point of this post.  So...while looking for all wooden play kitchens for Audrey I stumbled across this blog which I immediately fell in love with.  Check out these links mama's these are unbelievably invaluable!!! It lists quick facts, a day in the life, curriculum, background and philosophy, what this type of schooling does well, the critiques, is it right for your family, and resources! These are incredibly well researched articles on 4 different schoolings: Montessori, Waldorf, Reggio, and Charlotte Mason (homeschool) 

After briefly skimming these articles because I want to watch my brand new Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 right now reading I realized that although we do A LOT of Montessori. We do a lot of practical life, Audrey helps unload and put up dishes, sorts utensils, helps make breakfast, helps me bake and prep for dinner, sweeps up messes, vacuums with her own vacuum, cleans up spills, put dirty laundry in the washing machine, transfers to the dryer, puts in the hamper, then puts clean laundry in the room it belongs, brings her plate to her table,sleeps on a floor mattress, etc,..we do a fair amount of waldorf and even reggio.  As far as Waldorf goes, we have a nature basket which Audrey collects things in Nature from.  We go outside every day, we do celebrate and discuss the seasons, she has a play refrigerator and will soon have a wooden kitchen.  She has dolls and a sling in which to wear them, she has a grocery cart, we make tents and play in them, and she pretends with her dolls and LOVES dress up.  I would LOVE to include a seasonal blessing for our food since nature truly resonates with me and our family.  I also love the idea of storytime with puppets. I love puppets and the idea of fairytales with lessons and having something like that memorized is great.  We do A LOT of coloring with crayons and colored pencils, painting, and doing some thumbprint art.  We do so much that Audrey generally has 4 pieces of work to hang on the wall.  I do like to incorporate art into the letter of the week, a very Montessori thing. So if the letter of the week is C, like it was these past 2 weeks, we colored a lot of Christmas scenes or carrots or corn or cows, the list goes on and on.  In any case, regarding Reggio, everything I do is around Audrey.  We may be doing something with the felt board and the trees make her want to go outside so out we go.  She may want to paint outside so we do that.  I let her take control of the day because after all shouldn't we listen to what they want to do and follow their lead?  If they are curious about something that moment why squash it.  Anyway, like I said art is extremely important in this house, the arts in general are so we fit right in. I love the free spirit of Reggio, it is different, and the field trips are great.  I can see myself incorporating more field trips into our lessons in the coming year for sure.  As for Charlotte Mason, again we are in nature quite a bit and Audrey does in fact help me water and weed.  She picks flowers and I do arrange them in a small vase and display them on her table.  She also helps me pick out fresh flowers when we are at the store, meaning she tells me what she wants and I get it because I insist upon fresh flowers in the house.  I love the idea of a new composer of month GENIUS really.  I will most certainly incorporate that.

the point of this rambling is that I don't see one perfect system, I see a combination of them all working together as perfect.  To bad there isn't something like that.  Lately, I have to say it has crossed my mind to homeschool Audrey at least in preschool, I suppose because I can actually teach K-12, I am certified and those early years are so important.  Now, with that said, there is a wonderful Montessori school here in town that I am going to find out more information on.  I will have to give you a follow up with what I find and what  I see when I visit.  In any case, enjoy these articles, they are so well written.  Also, check out the rest of the blog, it is really a great resource.