We grow seeds with our four and five year olds with Bounty paper towels folded into quarters, wet and placed in a zip lock bag with a bean seed inside where you can observe the roots when they start to grow. We tape them to the panes of the window. Remember to always plant a couple of extras with no name, then when a child's seed fails to germinate, you can replace it with a good one. In our outdoor garden we plant lemon balm, rosemary and various mints for fragrance. Bev Bos (noted preschool educator) says children live in odor-sterile environments, because of all the germicides, etc. we use to clean our homes and schools, and they need good smells. We plant lots of fennel, dill and parsley so the caterpillars will be welcome. We often take a caterpillar inside to hatch and then enjoy letting the butterly go. It makes the children much more protective of insects. BTW, when you have children make decorative objects, you are not encouraging art, but craft. While craft has its place, children should also understand that they do not have to make practical things for their art to have value. Why not have them take their art supplies outside and make pictures of their garden, or bring in some flowers for them to draw? This is one of the teachings of Reggio Emilia, an excellent preschool philosophy.

I really appreciate everybody's input. It has been really valuable to me to read and help me work through this. I talked with her BFFs parents last night whose daughter is not at the school. Her BFFs mom picked up for me as I got stuck in traffic behind a wreck. She read her folder notes and was a bit shocked about the complaints such as wasted time during center time, not standing still in line, etc. Then her husband mentioned that it is not worth for your child to be feeling like she isn't good or picked on at this point in her life when you can do something about it since even though the teachers doesn't say it all the kids know who is the one they call bad and no point in harming her self esteem at this age. He also said he has never ever seen her act like anything but a normal 5 year old and they are around us a lot. They also have a strong willed daughter. He told me to listen to my instincts. I felt better to have talked to them and validate that I think it is a bit extreme. He also said he was sure the administrator wasn't used to talking to somebody who is well educated and researches everything and then contradicts her. They both know the person in question. It is funny because that is almost exactly word for word what I thought after talking to her yesterday morning about what the law actually says. Yesterday went good and later in the afternoon when I checked in to see how things were going they said if she wasn't asleep by a certain time then she'd get to read books and do puzzles. Seems like they decided to listen to me about what the state said after all. This morning was more like a normal drop off with one exception. My daughter said as soon as I parked and came to her side to help her out that "Mommy I have a tummy ache" and I asked if she needed to go and potty, the answer was no and I could feel it seemed more psychological than physical as she was dragging to go into school. Since late last week this has been going on about not wanting to go in vs. she used to run ahead of me and be all excited. I really feel for her as it can't be easy to process. I left her with that I think she is an awesome kid and I know she is the best and she reluctantly let me go. Then this morning I got a call from principal at the school we were hoping she would get into for Kindergarten - didn't make it into pre-K, saying they have an opening in the Spring in the pre-K class. I'm going in on Tuesday to meet with the principal. DH and I are going to discuss some more, but we are fairly certain we will switch. I don't want to deal with anymore threats of you can leave if you don't like it when discussing things as I feel it is unproductive and I feel bullied when it is said. The upside too is that if she already is a student then she can continue into the Kindergarten program and we don't have to worry about being on the waiting list. I also looked at their published schedule and they have story/naptime and at a much later time that seem to fit much better with an older childs need for a nap than the 1.5 hr earlier that they enforce at her current school which works for younger children. Their time is more in line with the time she actually falls asleep on the weekend than the time we tell her to go and take the nap (we try to stick to the same schedule as school). This just seems like a wonderful gift to me as I was worried about moving her through too many places and doesn't seem like it could have come at a better time. One of the boys on our street is also in this class and she plays with him and his older sister who is in 1st grade at the school. This post was edited by lyfia on Fri, Dec 13, 13 at 15:07

Thank you all for the support and sharing your wisdom. Like i said I was just mom for so long that I've not had any dating issues in quite some time. suzieque- you're right in your interpretation. He assures me that nothing is going on and I don't necessarily believe that there is. However, I get the impression that this is his way of keeping his foot in the door with her. Of course, he denies it. As you mentioned, I have also told him that they are sending the kids mixed messages about marriage and relationships. They do come to his place on weekends but because of the distance between them I could see how week night visits would be disruptive. Pardon me for saying so, but I don't see why he needs to see them every single day. I don't mind at all when they're around and my daughter and I visit. It's a madhouse, but what do you expect with 4 kids, right? asolo- Although you're a bit harsh, I get what you're saying. No, I'm not living in a romance comic book. but I am a romantic at heart. I'm very grounded in reality. I've been on my own for a long time and I've been around the block a time or two so believe me when I tell you that I will come out of this ok. Right now my heart and my head are not in agreement, but I'm a very practical woman. marge- Yes, I'm sure he,s there. We talk on the phone and at times I even speak with the children. The 2 in the morning thing doesn't happen very often. It's usually until 8 or 9, but that's just as frustrating. As a working person it's pretty much lights out for me after the news. You mentioned that divorced people don't get along that well but what is she losing? I wish I could have cut a deal like that with my ex. She gets to do her thing, have Mr. Mom, and not put up with the relationship crap. They divorced due to infidelity on both parts ( you know I'll never get the entire story on that) and he claims that they should have remained friends and never married.You also mentioned that you couldnt imagine my other boyfriends if I think he's such a great guy and that I could benefit from counseling? If you read my original post I mentioned that after my short lived marriage I dated a few duds and gave it up because I was raising a child solo and it was too much to deal with, so I DID NOT make several bad life choices, but from your bitter and judgmental tone it sounds like you have...We could all benefit from a few therapy sessions. Popi- As you suggested, I think I will just date him. After all I don't hate the man. We have a great time together and to be totally honest Im a bit of a homebody and simply terrified at the thou.ght of being out there at my age. Its not that im unattractive. Guys do still hit on me but my girlfriends tell me such awful stories about the men they meet. Unless I'm missing something dating over 40 doesn't seem like much fun.

Hi Heather, " I like that first flower more than the second, its more scruffy-lookin, like hair that's cutely messy as opposed to straightened and boringly perfect. " It is my choice too, for the same reason that you expressed. One of the things that I dislike about many commercial zinnias is that their petals lie so close together, like shingles on a roof. It just looks too formal, and the closely lying petals provide a hiding place for bad insects, like aphids or thrips. I am also going for new zinnia flower forms, like this "Razzle Dazzle" type. That is one of my currently blooming indoor specimens, and it is about 20% larger than my previous specimens of that type. They still need much more size increase, and I am working toward that goal. " How long can zinnia seedlings stay in little pots (they have a cross sectional area about the size of my palm) until they need to be put somewhere more permanent? " They can stay in little pots up until blooming time, but that is not good for them. As soon as they become root-bound, they need to be repotted. If you have clear pots like I use, you can see the roots start to crowd the side of the pot. If your pot is opaque, you can use this criterion: In the open ground a zinnias root system is at least as extensive as its top development. So if the visible part of your zinnia plant is significantly larger than the pot, it will appreciate being repotted. " And can zinnias grow in mild winter? Is it just frost that kills them, or would the lack of sunlight and cooler temperatures spell disaster? " It is not just frost that kills zinnias in the Fall. Cooler temperatures and shorter days cause zinnias to lose their vigor and become susceptible to Powdery Mildew and other foliage diseases. Sometimes disease effectively kills them before a frost. I spray my high value breeders with a systemic fungicide in the Fall, but just allow the others to succumb. After I harvest their green seeds or brown seeds I just pull up the plant and send it to the landfill. I don't compost zinnias, because that seems to spread disease. " I'm wondering whether I should stick these in the garden or take them indoors. Although, now that I think about it, zinnias do grow quickly so I might actually be done with them before winter even comes. " Yes. Wait and see. However, bringing a zinnia indoors from outdoors runs the risk of bringing one or more pests indoors with it, where in the absence of natural enemies, their population can explode. Good luck. And pictures are welcome. ZM