by Allison Charleston (USA) | Nov 30, 2010 | Culture, Education, Family, Kids, Motherhood, Parenting, Preschool, USA
At times, life for a family in Manhattan feels like it moves at a faster pace than the rest of the universe. We enroll our kids in music classes at four months, movement and art classes at six months and vie to get accepted into play groups and toddler classes that are deemed to be “feeders” to the best nursery schools in the neighborhood — the so-called “Baby Ivies”.
In Manhattan, preschool madness begins at 7am on the Tuesday after Labor Day every year. Anxious parents flood the phone lines of these bastions of the ABC’s and some schools run out of applications by lunchtime.
To get admitted to a nursery program, you need to apply the September before you’d like to attend, and the admissions process takes nearly a full calendar year. So, if it’s a 2’s program you want, you need to start the application process right after your baby blows out that first birthday candle! (more…)
Allison is a 35-year-old attorney-turned stay at home mom. This New York City mom lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with her 2-year-old son, Chase, and her husband, Andy. She is also expecting baby #2!
In her former life, she was an attorney practicing in a mega firm on NYC’s Park Avenue, putting in long hours, working hard and reveling in the fast pace of her life. She loved living in “the city”, and when she could, she took advantage of all it had to offer. But, when Chase was born over 2 years ago, that all changed. These days, the work has changed from writing legal briefs to changing diapers and the hours are longer, but she wouldn’t have it any other way!
Allison is enjoying her adventures as a metropolitan mommy, raising Chase in New York City and has gained strength from her longer-than-she-wanted-to-wait journey getting pregnant with her second child.
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by Jennifer Warren (UK) | Nov 23, 2010 | Culture, Education, Family, International, Kids, Motherhood, Parenting, UK
When we moved to England, my daughter, Emily, started year 5 (equivalent to the 4th grade in the United States). She also entered her fourth school in 4 years. This didn’t make changing schools any easier for her this time though. My husband is in the Royal Navy, but all of this moving around has nothing to do with the military, just from us wanting to see the world and moving around.
Prior to moving to England I was a single, working mom, who wanted nothing but the best education for my, then, only child. I believe an education is the best gift we can give our children. With that in mind, I had to find a suitable school for my daughter. I also had to do it from abroad because we were living in Oman in the Middle East at the time.
I scoured the internet, called and asked questions, read reports, called and asked more questions, waited for and reviewed prospectus’, and finally, narrowed it down to two schools: one government school and one independent, boarding school. (more…)
by Amy Hillis (USA) | Nov 16, 2010 | Communication, Culture, Education, Family, Motherhood, Parenting, USA
Ah, technology. When it’s running smoothly, life is good. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Skype, iTunes, You Tube, email, IM’s, blogs, games, news, videos…..whew, I need to take a break! Which is what I did, not voluntarily, mind you. My borrowed laptop crashed, and let’s just say the last week has been difficult.
Okay, that’s an understatement. I mean really, I had to write out my thoughts and ideas on actual paper. Paper?!? Do you know how hard it was to find paper around here? Or a pen, for that matter? I’m not really sure I can decipher the chicken scratch that has become my handwriting.
What did we do without computers and the internet and the instant gratification of talking with near strangers in real-time? It’s amazing, really, to think that we, as a civilization, have lasted as long as we have without such technology. Pony express? Please! Could you even begin to wait months for news from around the world?
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Amy is a native Chicagoan that currently resides just outside of Cincinnati, OH. A city girl, through and through, she’s still adjusting to small town life. Amy has a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art with a minor in French from Elmhurst College. She was working on her Master’s degree at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, when she became pregnant with her 3rd child. Although this angel boy was only here for a very short time – he left quite a legacy.
Nathaniel was born with a rare genetic disorder called Citrullinemia. Amy and her husband, James, went on to have 4 more boys, 3 of whom were also born with Citrullinemia. In January 2011, her youngest son, David passed away from complications of a liver transplant performed to 'cure' the Citrullinemia. Now a stay-home mom of 5, she started blogging in October 2010, while David was still in the hospital. Two of her other sons have had successful liver transplants to cure their genetic disorders.
Her 2 older children still live in Chicago. When not hanging out with her kids, she spends her ‘me’ time writing, sewing, reading & walking. Amy also spends a generous amount of time online. She can be found on Twitter @transplantedx3. On Facebook and on her Website <a href="http://mytearstainedlife.com"My Tear-Stained Life
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by Courtney Cappallo (USA) | Nov 8, 2010 | Being Thankful, Education, Family, Motherhood, Parenting, USA
Last year I embarked on the journey of a lifetime, well, my lifetime anyway! I took on the responsibility to educate my (then) 4-year-old daughter for preschool. For me, the decision was a no-brainer. When my daughter turned two years of age, I remember many of the mothers in my inner circle debating the preschool question. When and where are you going to send your child to preschool? Back then I was hesitant to tell them the truth, that I planned on not enrolling my child in preschool but to, in fact, homeschool her.
I could feel the social pressure kicking in even when my child was two! I was resolute in my decision to wait to start schooling my child until she turned four. I wanted her first years to revolve around exploring the world and playing, yes, just playing! Of course, she learned the ABC’s and numbers, but there was no strict structure involved.
When my daughter turned four years old I started homeschooling her for preschool two days a week. I had (and still do have) unconditional support from my spouse. We knew that I would be homeschooling our children before we were even parents. I decided to homeschool only two days a week versus some of the other preschool programs that school three or even five days a week. I felt completely comfortable with committing to a two-day a week schedule.
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Courtney Cappallo is a mom of two girls, ages 7 and 4-years-old. She is living her dream life by residing on Cape Cod and being able to stay at home with her two little beauties. Courtney is currently homeschooling both of her daughters for 2nd grade and preschool, respectively.
Courtney uses a mix of Classical Education and Montessori. She is a strong believer in teaching to the five senses. Courtney’s homeschooling efforts are unique, as she uses the latest technology of the Smartboard. She is also taking on the task of learning Spanish as a second language, as well as, teaching her two children and husband Spanish.
Prior to becoming a homeschooling teacher, Courtney was the Director of Marketing for Simon Property Group, which is the largest U.S. real estate company. Courtney was Simon’s Director of Marketing for the Burlington Mall, Arsenal Mall and Cape Cod Mall. Courtney is a graduate of Villanova University and is proud of her small town roots from growing up in Oxford, Pennsylvania, which only has two traffic lights! She can be found making homeschooling lessons and more at Table of Four !
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