Skibo's un-birthday

Skibo's celebration of his birthday at the school was absolutely lovely. It was the first such ceremony I'd been able to attend, and I came away delighted with their traditions.
To start with, he got to pick two friends who would fetch a sun (a candle atop a stylistic sun) and sticks with the months written on them: his teacher handed him the sticks in turn, starting with his birth month (first making it clear to all that although it wasn't his birthday, we were going to help him celebrate, since his birthday takes place when school is not in session: she handled this aspect beautifully). Skibo placed the month sticks around the sun, and then picked up a globe, and placed it on the mat.
His teacher then proceeded to tell the class about him, what he had done in each of the years of his life, and for each year, he got to walk the globe that many times around the sun.

The ceremony ended with Skibo sitting on my lap, and all the children telling him what they'd like to give him (imaginary gifts), ranging from a red bicycle, transformers, and a bow and arrow, to "all the happiness", to "anything he wants"!

I came away really feeling good about the school, how they do things (for example, with twenty or so students in the class, they get to hear the months of the year recited many times throughout the year, and not always starting with January -- they really get a sense of January follows December in a circle, not just the linear version we teach as rhyme).

I can see LOML and me sitting down in a few months, deciding where we can save, and how we can earn more, to send the children back to the Montessori school....

Yours, proud of Skibo,
N.