wow. well i visited the montessori today and i loved it. loved it loved it.
http://mchdurham.org
so I'll apply for financial aid and the school and hopefully we'll get some financial aid and wiley can go there. It was amazing to see the 3-6 year old class and all these little bodies doing their thing primarily on their own without not doing it or arguing. I watched these two 3 year olds take out a mat and a "work" and sit and do it together (without being told by a teacher what to do). They were reaching inside a bag and pulling out objects. They'd take turns, passing the bag back and forth, then they'd show each other what they found and compare and contrast the objects with the other objects they'd gotten. When they were finished they put their "work" back, rolled up the mat and put it away. No teacher ever came by to see what they were doing, they resolved any conflicts on their own. A little later I watched the kids help themselves to snack. There were instructions about how many grapes and crackers to get, and they followed the directions, no one tried to take more. They got their snack when they were hungry. It was amazing. Some kids wore shoes, some went outside to do their projects. They were all just working and busy and happy. It was very symbiotic and respectful.
I think Wiley would love it. He seems to be yearning for some kind of consistent schooling and socialization. Today he said, "I don't have special friends anywhere." We talked about it and it seems he wants to interact with friends on a regular basis, like he saw olive doing at her childcare when we went to visit. Later, Wiley and I went out for a walk and he picked up a stick and said "look mom, there are mushrooms on this stick, just like we learned about!" Then we walked around looking for more mushrooms and turning over rocks looking for bugs.

Archer's been making more noise lately, primarily meaning one of these two reasons:
1. I am so frustrated that I can't get this toy into my mouth.
2. Where's Wiley, why isn't he here making me laugh. Find Wiley!