End of an era

Our family has been part of the Cheverly Weekday Nursery/Mother's Day Out family for the past seven years. Both Paul and Maggie attended nursery school and summer sessions in these programs, which have been running for 30 years (give or take). WDN/MDO is an institution in Cheverly, and we've been very happy to be part of it. Today, we're done.

I remember carrying Maggie through the halls in her carseat as we delivered Paul to preschool. I remember how terribly excited Maggie was to get her chance to stay at school (how could she run off without even kissing me goodbye?!) even as Paul would sob and cling to me when it was time to begin class. I remember the days spent with other parents painting murals in the hallways to enliven otherwise drab areas that the kids & teachers use. We had fun creating the first concert series last year, and our favorite parts of each holiday season have been the Halloween parade and the Christmas pageant. I don't know how many cookies I've baked for WDN/MDO over the past seven years, but I suspect that number is in the thousands.

Today was Maggie's last day at WDN. She's now an official graduate of preschool (with a diploma to prove it), ready for the rigors and challenges of kindergarten. And that ends an era for our family. I'll miss seeing the very capable, creative, compassionate teachers whom I have come to count as friends over the years. I'll miss the murals in the hallways. I'll miss the countless art projects. I know she's ready for new challenges, but it seems like these years have gone by so fast. Too fast, really. We don't have a very young child any longer. We have two elementary school kids. The door to very special time of our lives closed at 12:15pm today. I'm sad. I'm happy. I'm all sorts of things. I guess that, most of all, I'm delighted at the thought of what's next on the horizon.

This. That. The Other.

We've had two weekends in a row of school extravaganzas...the school year must be (at long last) coming to an end!

First, Cheverly Weekday Nursery's Truck Touch, in which the children touch the trucks and honk the horns and eat the hot dogs and hamburgers and cookies and...and...and... Liz and I whrrled the event, which was pretty cool. You can follow the story here.

This past Saturday, Paul's school hosted its Annual Fun Day, which was -- for many a dad -- more fun than usual, due to the presence of the Redskins cheerleaders (Redskinettes? I dunno.) They were giving mini cheerleading camps, and Maggie was right in the mix. There were a lot of very attentive dads once they figured out what was going on...and some of them didn't even have kids doing the mini camp.

Paul was at both of these events, but he, in what seems to be 2nd grader mode (judging by his friends) was extraordinarily free range, visiting us only for infusions of tickets. He came home with a lot of crap from both events. Have you ever noticed that attending school fairs is much like taking a day trip to NYC? You come with money, but 30 minutes later it's all gone and you have no recollection of where it went. Maybe I need to get to New York more often and school fairs less often...

I think Paul has taken stories of hell to heart during religious studies at school. He really gets the detail. Not sure what this has to do with anything, but there it is.

LIVE ALL AGES Rock 'n' Roll Extravaganza This Saturday!

This Saturday morning at 10:00am, join the families of Cheverly Weekday Nursery/Mother's Day Out for a very special all-ages rock 'n' roll morning show featuring SOUL REVOLVER. Admission is only $5 per person (it's a tax-deductible contribution.) And there will be snacks available for a small fee.

Soul Revolver is Cheverly's very own Beatles cover band, and has played private parties as well as several times at The Surf Club on Kenilworth Avenue. Members are Charles Andrews (bass, vocals), Kelly Fisher (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Brian Jarboe (guitar, vocals), and Brian Youmans (drums, vocals). All four members have some relation to the Weekday Nursery/Mother's Day Out programs or to Cheverly United Methodist Church, so it's definitely a family affair.

The concert will take place in the historic church's Sanctuary, and we encourage dancing in the aisles!

We hope that many families are able to take advantage of a fun, inexpensive opportunity to hear (and see up close!) live music in Cheverly. This is the second concert in the Music at School series, which benefits the Cheverly Weekday Nursery and Mother's Day Out programs for young children. We bring a variety of music to children and their families in the Cheverly area, allowing them to experience live music performed by familiar people -- parents and other people the kids know. We encourage children to take an active interest in music, and families to pursue more opportunities to expose their children to a wide array of musical styles. In our first year, we've offered performances by classical pianist Naoko Maeda and rock band Soul Revolver. Next year, we will continue to expand the offerings of this exciting new outreach program.

For more information, visit the WDN/MDO website or read about it on your friendly neighborhood blog or its' close personal friend.

A neat thing...

Cheverly Weekday Nursery/Mother's Day Out is starting a new concert series featuring parents and other family members of current and alumni students. The first concert is this Saturday, and it features pianist Naoko Maeda (mother of Mother's Day Out student Hinna). The idea with this benefit series is to bring a wide variety of music to children in our community through their families. Many kids don't know any professional musicians personally, so this is a great opportunity for kids to expand their horizons as they see familiar people doing extraordinary things. Future concerts in the series will include a Serbian choir, as well as two rock bands (Cheverly's own Soul Revolver and The Hot Noodles) in addition to (hopefully) performances by local jazz musicians and a former opera singer (guess who...)

If you're in Cheverly this weekend, I hope that you attend Saturday's concert. Your donation is tax-deductible (so you get a jump on next year's charitable giving), childcare is available for kids under five, the music will be great...and there are treats after the show, which is always a good thing.