Every Thursday (if I'm not working) we go to our Toddlers in the Kitchen Cooking Class! Through trying out a couple different classes, we've finally found "the one"!! It has been quite the learning experience and the amazing teacher, Ms. Tawanda, has been so great! When I say learning experience, I am talking mostly about social skills. You see, we started going to this class while Austin was going through a year long shy phase. Eve was just a brand new baby and I was a desperate Mommy, trying to do ANYTHING I could think of to entertain my almost two year old. However, every time we went out in public Austin would suddenly cling to me for dear life and cry if anyone looked at him or tried talking to him! It was horrifying for me (being the outgoing person that I am) and I found myself constantly apologizing for him and trying to explain that he is going through a "transition phase" with the new baby and all..... But it was Ms. Tawanda who told me to never apologize. "He is right where he needs to be, and if you stick with it, there will come a day when he will let go of the apron strings and this will all be a funny memory" she promised.
So week after week we went. Some days Austin would leave my side for a quick minute and then dart right back to me, just in case I had left him. Other days he would sit on the floor next to me and REFUSE to participate whatsoever! And if anyone tried to talk him into it he would burst into tears. I hated those times. I wanted so badly to scream at those annoying well-doers. Couldn't they see he wanted ME AND ONLY ME and now I had two screaming kids in my arms instead of just the brand new baby I was trying to secretly nurse under my blouse......
You see, Ms. Tawanda has a Master's Degree in child development and she is more than knowledgeable! Sometimes I would come early to class and tell her all my toddler woes, waiting for her next bit of advice, like she had the keys to the universe or something! I felt safe telling her things because she just seemed to get it. She understood Austin and never made me feel like he was weird or that his constant need for love and comfort was all my fault (like the annoying voice in my head kept telling me).
I hate that voice........
Anyway, just like the amazing teacher said, after a year of routine attendance (whether he participated or not) Austin has now grown out of that phase and has turned into a well adjusted toddler! HALLELUJAH!!! He LOVES Ms. Tawanda and gets so excited when I announce we are going to see her today! Sometimes at night Josh and I giggle because we can hear him in his bedroom talking to himself about her :). She has a very unique name and hearing it come out of a toddlers mouth is just too cute for words (hehe).
The first part of the class is free play! There are all sorts of toys that incorporate child development skills into fun! I'm not sure how riding a giant lady bug fits into that, but didn't we establish that childhood is a big mystery??
 |
| This is seriously the coveted toy. The kids are always fighting over it, giving Ms. Tawanda the opportunity to talk about sharing! Maybe that's the learning part? |
 |
| Austin loves the little kitchen! |
 |
| He's also a big fan of the giant blocks! He stacks them and Evie demolishes them :). |
 |
| Hanging out in the music corner. |
 |
| Right into the mouth, as always.... |
Next comes circle time! Austin used to hide behind me and look at us like we were all insane at this point, but now he sings and claps along with us! I had no idea how well he was actually paying attention until he started singing all the words right on cue! His favorites are the hot dog song (because it is loud and talks about one of his favorite foods) and the pancake song (because Ms. Tawanda throws a pan of cloth pancakes into the air and all the little kids go running around chasing after them)! Now that Evie is walking, she stands directly in front of the teacher, clapping along with her and hanging onto her every word. It is so cute! :)
Then comes the cooking part! Or sometimes it is more of a learning/craft day and we create things that have to do with cooking. Today we made chef hats!
 |
| Evie tries so hard to do what the rest of the group is doing. Today I let her color for about ten seconds until she turned the marker into a snack! |
 |
| Austin seems to like the craft days even better than the cooking days! He LOVES to color, but not as much as he loves using glue! |
There is no greater learning experience than becoming a parent and I am grateful for women like Ms. Tawanda who have helped me along this crazy wonderful journey!
 |
| The final product! What do you think? Are we professional chef hat makers or what?! (haha) |
 |
| Austin HAS to be the one to hold the smoothie but sometimes he finds it in his heart to share with us :). |
No comments:
Post a Comment