SHAWN STARTS AT NEW SCHOOL

In late October, Shawn left Kinder Care and moved on to a lab school, not another daycare, but a lab school. It's located on my Fullerton College campus, and Shawn absolutely loves it. He's made fast friends, and the teachers all seem to love him. They were amazed that he's only 2-1/2, and after Thanksgiving, the teachers told me that he's ready for underwear - no more Pull Ups! Both Chris and Shawn didn't leave diapers behind until the day after their 3rd birthday party. I guess in their minds that was it as far as being a baby and into being a big boy. The school stresses the outdoors, so there's a very large yard separated into different sections. They grow herbs, strawberries, grapes, tomatoes and more. The kids water the plants from little water pumps hung with small tin buckets, then they reap what they sow and have it for lunch. They have a chef who whips up wonderful meals for them. They follow a program from Italy called the Reggio Emilia Approach. It is an educational philosophy focused on preschool and primary education. It was started by Loris Malaguzzi and the parents of the villages around Reggio Emilia in Italy after World War II. The destruction from the war, parents believed, necessitated a new, quick approach to teaching their children. They felt that it is in the early years of development that children are forming who they are as an individual. This led to creation of a program based on the principles of respect, responsibility, and community through exploration and discovery in a supportive and enriching environment based on the interests of the children through a self-guided curriculum.