Finally replaced the giant elm that the city removed last year. The ginkgo is looking good, and we’ve covered the huge dirt patch. Rabbits ate my dwarf dogwood so we had to add some fencing. I hope we’re done with it for a while!

One of our zebra finches (Indie and Aussie) laid an egg! Both are female, so no future chicks, and we removed the egg from the feeding box as instructed by the Finch Forum Folk. Isn’t that egg adorable!

Lily wants us to get some fakes for the ladies to care for, and we might give that a try. The forum says it might cause the birds to fight.

We haven’t seen the neighborhood turkey since last fall, but this morning there were tracks through our yard. A neighbor texted to say that the turkey was at our front door a few minutes ago, but by the time I checked it was across the street.

Here are the neighbors at our house, wishing them a SWEET farewell. Sadly, the Oliver gang is parting, though everyone is still in mpls so we’ll still see each other.

Here are the kids, doing their part for the planet, digging out  

 the loose batteries that had been spilled into the recycling bin. Thankfully, it wasn’t as big a job as it first seemed…As long as you have kids who think it’s cool to crawl into the giant recycling bin. You’re welcome, Earth.

I’m enjoying some of the best professional development I can remember here in St Paul!

Lots of great discussion on Hot Button education topics that demand the attention of teachers, parents and all members of our learning communities. It’s really inspiring to be part of a group that is actively advocating for and making changes driven by teachers!

I got myself a new cookbook yesterday, (yay, Rhubarb, think Spring!) so I thought it would be a good time to feature Bryant’s valance project, which I use to display the books. There are 2 in our kitchen. They look nice, add character, and provide convenient storage. They also stop me from acquiring too many cookbooks because I’ve made it a rule to only keep what fits. And Bry likes an occasional project to work on, as long as he doesn’t have to paint. One tip about the paint- be sure to let it cure before putting the books up. Even when the paint feels dry, it will end up sticking to the books if it’s not really thoroughly dry. Learned that the hard way.
This shelf valance idea was really cute in Hillary’s room when she was a baby. We could change out the books as she got older.

“When kids are praised for everything and told they are ‘special’ it does two things: It reduces their desire to put in effort, and it reduces their ability to self-regulate because they don’t get to challenge themselves.”
– psychology today article by David Rock

Here I am in the Armatage theatre waiting for Lily to be honored as one of about 100 “students of the month”.
Even at a Montessori school, an MPS student cannot avoid artificial praise. But how can I protest the event when my kindergartener is so excited about it!? She picked out her outfit a week ago and was up at 6 wanting me to curl her hair! It’s a painful event – ugh.