January highlights: 3 day weekend in Indianapolis with epic bubble baths and an R2D2 cake and watching the Russian Ballet perform Cinderella on a "Mommy-Daddy-Toria date"
February highlights: the Blue and Gold Banquet, Valentine's Day, a few theme days while our friend's dad was away at his first grad school conference
March at a glance
Week 1: We went to the annual Fairy Tale Ball at the Urbana Public Library.
Week 2: We battled super lice and won! Karen's advice was timely beyond all else. We got rid of it for good in less than a week while all or friends were still trying to battle it with other methods. Thank you Karen and your professional nit picking friend!
Week 3: Greg went to the APS conference and did well. We had theme days again (see photos.) The day after he got back we went to Newsies and the temple for a belated birthday celebration in Indy, courtesy of my aunt and uncle.
Week 4: We babysat an almost two year old for a week while her parents vacationed in Africa! We registered Victoria for kindergarten (see attached newspaper clipping) and were featured in the local newspaper. Easter was great and low key here at home with friends from the ward next door; we tried to celebrate all week for greater impact.
April highlights: General Conference and yummy enchiladas Saturday night with friends, an upcoming wedding, several singing performances for me, learning where Victoria will go to Kindergarten and whether Greg got the Blue Waters Fellowship, Greg's prelim at the end of the month. My favorite quote is actually from the Women's General session (the last Saturday in March): "Love is making space in your life for someone else." Make space for God.
Our top two choices for schools have elective classes more often than some of the other schools. Neither school has uniforms and both have slightly longer lunches (20 minutes is still short.) The teachers were all impressive--welcoming and genuinely so.
Carrie Busey
The school day begins and ends sooner.
It's close enough to walk or ride.
She gets to help in their garden.
The open house "tour" was a perfect balance in meeting the needs of child and parents. There are 4 kindergarten classrooms and we met with 3 of the teachers. They were friendly and informative, answering our questions as parents while letting Victoria explore without trying too hard to engage her. They did guide her a bit and get her to answer some of their questions. I am excited to go back during the school day with Victoria and see how a typical teaching day goes.
Each kindergarten class has their own garden in which they plant and harvest a fast crop (think spring garden salad) and a long term crop for the next class to harvest in the fall. Because there are 4 classrooms of about 21 each, the students are able to have an elective class of some sort every day. Every other day they go to the "learning lab" for 20 minutes to practice gross motor skills before going to P.E. On the other days of the week they go to music or art. And of course they go to the library weekly. The principle added that if a student is a particularly hungry reader they make arrangements for more library time before or after school. :)
At Carrie Busey, Victoria gets a morning snack and then around noon she goes to play at recess before lunch. Because her grade is the last to use the lunchroom, the students have greater flexibility in how long lunch will last. It's still fast but it's not short to the point of rudeness.
South Side
The P.E. class and music classes are impressive.
They integrate their curriculum very well and are constantly using technology.
It's the farthest away of my top 3 and so she would ride the bus. With a later start time (8:45) that's good for my mornings but harder in the afternoon. Their profile sounds very welcoming and they encourage visitors to come familiarize themselves with with the school. Victoria and I love that they specialize in music. I had high expectations for our tour and they were met.
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