Letting go of expectations

I had one of those magical days with my 3 year old this week -- the sort of day you hope for as a parent. I realize now that it all came together so well because I just relaxed and followed my child's lead.

It all started on Monday, when I feverishly crammed all of my errands into the few hours she was at school so that we could have a free morning on Tuesday, with nothing to do but hang out. Emma wanted to go to Happy Hollow in San Jose, which sounded OK to me since we have a membership and I have mastered the art of rushing down there, "doing" the park and getting back up to Redwood City in time to pick up my older daughter from kindergarten.

Unfortunately, when we arrived at Happy Hollow, I discovered that it was closed because of the reduced fall/winter hours. Before I broke the news to Emma, I decided that I needed a backup plan to distract her from the tears that I felt were inevitable. I whipped out my phone to check the hours for the Discovery Museum, dreading how much a few hours of "fun" were going to cost me. I felt lucky to discover that the museum was open. When I explained to Emma that Happy Hollow was closed but we could go to the Discovery Museum instead, she said "no thanks." She wanted to go to a park near our house, which we had visited a few weeks before with some friends.

I tried to talk her out of the park, explaining that our friends would not be there. I tried to explain that we were already in San Jose and that we don't often get the chance to go to the Discovery Museum. But, she was having none of it. She wanted the park. I finally decided that the park was a heck of a lot cheaper and easier than the Discovery Museum -- especially when you factor in all of the rude, pushy grade school kids who always seem to be at the museum in the mornings. So, without even getting out of the car to stretch our legs, we drove back up the 280 toward our house and went to Little People's Park in Portola Valley.

The parking lot was deserted, and I was certain that Emma would be disappointed when she discovered that her friends were not there. But when we walked through the gate, Emma's enthusiasm for a vacant playground became infectious. The two of us ran up and down the AstroTurf hill, we swung on the swings together, we played "ice cream shop" in the little playhouse, we slid down the slides together, we each got our own rocking horse, and we ate our snack side-by-side on the jungle gym. It was truly a magical morning with my little one. I found that by letting go of my expectations about what would make a perfect outing, I was able to just "be present" and enjoy my child's zest for life.

Do you ever feel like you spend so much time, effort, and money to give your children what you feel are "perfect" experiences when all they really want is our undivided attention and a lazy morning at the park?

Lessons learned from a playdough mom

1. Even if this month's colors are black and orange, don't try making black playdough unless you have a ridiculous amount of food coloring. Otherwise, red, blue, and yellow mixed together make a shade of dark brown that will hopefully make everyone think of beautiful chocolate labs, or chocolate.

2. If your cream of tartar is chunky, no, the electric mixer will not pulverize the chunks, and they will be very visible in dark-colored playdough. You will then spend a half hour trying to smash the chunks in the finished playdough when the task could probably have been accomplished in much less time by hand at the beginning.

3. Use a non-stick pot, and don't add peppermint oil because then it not only smells really good, but your children will also be unable to resist eating it despite the saltiness.

File that idea in the trash can!

My 5 year old and 3 year old love a good competition. So, one night -- in a desperate attempt to get them to eat their dinner -- I offered a reward to the child who finished first. My 3 year old promptly stuffed a handful of green beans in her mouth and started to choke. Uhhh... I won't make that mistake again!

Parenting seems to be an endless series of trials and errors. What ideas have you tried that left you a little wiser?

Rubio's Fundraiser in 2 Weeks

Dine at Rubio's, take food to go, or pick up a catering order and Rubio's will donate 20% of your sales to WPNS. Valid on October 20, between 5-7 p.m. Be sure to print out and bring the flyer!

Rubio's is located at:
515 El Camino Real
Menlo Park, CA 94025
650-326-6691


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Who will win the prize at the Parent Meeting?

Bring your completed quiz to the Parent Meeting on Tuesday evening, and it could be you!

This quiz is the first in a series for future Parent Meetings, and you'll find all the answers in the Parent Handbook and Bylaws. Feel free to work with a friend!

What's playing in your car?

I'm always on the lookout for things to listen to in the car that not only please my 3-year-old and 19-month-old, but also don't completely drive me nuts!

Current favorites include:

• Keller Williams' "Kids" - super-fun, catchy songs that make all of us laugh.We love Car Seat and Horse Back Rider.
• Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, by Judy Blume. My son Charlie is only 3, but I think he appreciates the silly things Fudge does, and how frustrated Fudge's older brother feels sometimes. This one was a real hit and it was a treat to revisit an old childhood favorite.
• My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George. Charlie was fascinated with the idea of living in the wilderness, and making acorn pancakes and his own fishing hooks. This whole series is great.

What about you? What do you like listening to in the car with your kids?

Back-to-School Picnic on Sunday!

So many of you have already responded to the Evite and it looks like we are going to have a wonderful turn out for our back-to-school picnic.  Just a reminder, for those who haven't already done so, please RSVP through the Evite by tonight.

Also, please note that Huddart Park charges a $6 vehicle fee.  Please remember to bring cash or check with you.

Hope to see you Sunday!

Jenelle

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The picnic is just around the corner!!!  Join us for some food, fun and activities on Sunday, September 25th.

What:  WPNS Back-to-School Picnic
Where:  Huddart Park, Werder Picnic Area
Date:  Sunday, September 25th
Time:  10:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Bring a favorite side dish to share.

Look out for an evite and please RSVP so we can estimate the number of mouths to feed (we'll be BBQing burgers and hotdogs).

Hope to see you there!

Jenelle
WPNS Board President

Helpful Hints and Reminders

Hi WPNS Families,

I hope all of you had a wonderful first week of school.  The first few weeks of school is always a huge adjustment for our kids (and for us!)  For some of our kids, the transition is easy and for others it will take a while.  Enjoy being there for them if they need you.

We noticed a few things that may not have been communicated at the parent orientation and we'd like to send these helpful hints and reminders out now:

• If you're the working parent, please arrive at school a little early.  If you're running late, please call the school and/or the emergency parent as a courtesy.  The emergency parent has to wait until the working parents arrives at school in order to leave.

• WPNS is a nut-free school.  Please remember to bring snacks or birthday treats that do not contain nuts.

• The school is required by licensing to have each child signed in and out each day.  Upon arriving at school, please remember to sign your child in.  And, at pick up remember to sign your child out.

• When you are the snack parent, please fill in the snack record which is kept on a clip board above the sink in the Red Room (where snack is prepared).

• Please be respectful of the church property, including the courtyard, garden area and structures in the courtyard.  If you would like to socialize with other families after school, please consider going to the library garden next door or to a local park.

• Try to avoid leaving a teacher solo in any room or area.  If the teacher needs to leave an area to take care of a child, they need to have a parent there to take care of the other children.  If you're unsure where you should be stationed (such as at snack time), please ask one of the teachers.

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me or any of your board members.  Also, you should always feel free to ask questions of your teachers and director.

Warm regards,

Jenelle
WPNS Board President

WPNS Playdough Recipe

Thank you to all of our Playdough Parents who prepare this monthly for the kids! If you haven't played with it before at school, try making some at home. It makes a lovely, soft dough that lasts a long time. Note: This recipe makes a lot (enough to last one class a month)! For a home-size quantity, cut the recipe in half.

INGREDIENTS

4 c. flour
1 c. salt
8 T cream of tartar
food coloring
4 c. water
8 T oil

METHOD

1. Mix dry ingredients in a saucepan
2. Add wet ingredients
3. Stir constantly over low heat until smooth
4. Place on cutting board to cool
5. Store in a Ziploc bag
6. Bring to school the first week of the month

Hand in Hand speaking at next parent meeting

Be sure to mark your calendars now for an educational evening with two speakers from Hand in Hand Parenting who will be discussing 'Raising Emotionally Healthy Children'.

What:  WPNS Parent Meeting
Topic:  Raising Emotionally Healthy Children
Speakers:  Sara Wood Smith and Keiko Sato-Perry from Hand in Hand
Date:  Tuesday, October 11th
Time:  7:00 - 9:00
Where:  Guild Hall at WPNS

For more information, see the parent meeting flyer.

As with all of our parent meetings, a babysitter will be made available on site if needed.  A week before the meeting, Tammy Agosta (our parent meeting coordinator) will send an e-mail asking if you will need a babysitter.  The cost is $15 per child for the two hour meeting, or $25 for two siblings for the two hour meeting.

Looking forward to the first day of school and seeing all of you at school next week!

Jenelle Seto
WPNS Board President

Letter from the WPNS Presidency

Welcome to all of our new families and welcome back to our returning families! We hope that your summer was filled with fun and relaxation. The WPNS Board has been busy this summer helping hire new staff members, planning events and getting ready for the 2011-2012 school year. The board members are filled with energy and enthusiasm for our school and we would like to thank each of them for volunteering their time. So much has happened over the course of the summer months and we are excited to provide you with this update. We hired two new staff members this summer. Karen Trudell comes to us from Peninsula Covenant Preschool and will be our interim director as well as teach in the TuTh and Toddler classes. Theresa Comin also comes to us from Peninsula Covenant Preschool and she will be teaching in the MWF class.

We are so excited about our new staff members and can’t wait for you to meet them! Lindsay Marx will not be returning this fall as she bought a home and relocated to a new town. Her presence at our school will be missed but we wish her well. We’ve implemented events and programs based on feedback from the mid-year survey you completed in January 2011. We appreciate your feedback, through the survey and personally, and want you to know we are available and want to hear from you as this is a cooperative preschool. Your voices are incredibly important and we hope to see you at the meetings and community events. Some of the events and programs we’ve implemented include:

• Building more community by adding events that bring our families together in a relaxed environment. We hope to see you at the Family Picnic in September.
• New topics at Parent Meetings, as well as bringing back our break-out sessions by class with your teachers. Some meetings will include professional speakers.
• Improved functionality of our website including a members-only section requiring a login and password.

Finally we would like to thank the entire teaching team and staff. Their devotion and commitment to our school are what makes WPNS and the program an incredible place where our children and families learn, grow, and become the people they are! We are so fortunate to have Lolly Miller, Mary Russell and Sarah Schauer in our PreK class, Lolly Schenone, Tammy Taylor, Theresa Comin and Debbie Parenti in our MWF class, Sarah Schauer, Tammy Taylor and Karen Trudell in our T/TH class, and Tammy Taylor and Karen Trudell in our Toddler class.

Lastly, we are very happy to have Daran Reinholm helping us in the office. We are currently at full enrollment in all of our classes with the exception of Pre-K.

Congratulations ~ your children are part of a very special school!

Thank you,
Jenelle Seto, President
(Olivia; PreK)

Staci Homrig, Vice President
(Emma; MWF)