For the first year of Jack’s life, he attended the Montessori Academy of Chicago, and we LOVED it. I really enjoyed the Montessori way of teaching and child development, the environment was so calm and nurturing, and his teachers were loving and fantastic. But then, when I lost my job a year and a half ago, I was home for 5 months with him and it didn’t make sense to pay {an absolutely silly amount – Hello, Chicago} of money to send him to school, so we sadly pulled him out (and by sadly, I mean I was seriously crying on his last day).
But – as they say, “Everything Happens for a Reason,” and as I started my new job last September, we were lucky enough to find the Korbmachers and then Katie-Nanny! ;-) I have said it before, but she is wonderful with our children and we are so glad to have her. She is a teacher by degree, and really enjoys Jack’s age, his wonderment, and the way that he really enjoys learning and trying new things (just his personality). He is seriously such a little sponge!
In the past couple of months, Katie has introduced a lot of fun things and we are on a great daily schedule with both kiddos. When Emma goes down for her morning nap (which just-so-happens to coincide with the ending of Super Why, Jack’s fave), they start KATIE SCHOOL!
This includes talking about the weather, their feelings (Jack almost always says he is “happy” or “excited”), and then they move on to the “Letter of the Week.” He has REALLY enjoyed this part of the day and is getting so good at sounding out words that begin with that letter, associating, and even writing the letters! Katie incorporates the Letter of the Week into her weekly lesson plans which have included special cooking projects, songs, crafts (I LOVE this – there are several new “projects” to come home to every day!), field trips, and books.
She also made Jack a Responsibility Chart, which he also really enjoys and teaches him the Days of the Week. It was helpful with Potty Training, but now it includes cleaning up, making the bed, brushing teeth, using a strong voice, getting out the door, getting dressed, and being a good listener – He has always loved to help, so this is a nice way to add on tasks that he can complete on his own. Jack feels pride by putting a sticker on the chart once he completes the task or a good day, and we also use it at night for visual encouragement.
One thing that I really appreciate about Katie is that she is always up for a new adventure and is more up for taking the kids on field trips than I am! She takes them on the “big train” to the downtown Library, which Jack is not a pro at, and has a monthly calendar of activities planned to museums, special places, parks, and fun free things to do around our city.
They went to a “design your own pretzel store” on Monday! So fun!
I am so happy with the things that Jack has learned from Katie and I have also learned a lot about teaching and how to communicate with kids from her, activities, and methods. She has so many tricks up her sleeve! After their field trips, Jack always has something interesting to tell me – last night he was telling me about blood vessels, dinosaurs, and why we cannot take our head off our body… :-)
Field Museum yesterday – Sue the “girl dinosaur” (per Jack)
Thank you, Katie, and Keep up the Great Work!
**and I have to say, I am a little jealous – I would love to be a student of Katies and do all of these fun things!!!
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