The Bean is in daycare, at a place very close to our home, which we really like. She’s been there since she was about four months old. She loves the teachers, the other kids, and the activities. It’s not a fancy place by any means – it was, in fact, the most reasonably priced daycare situation we could find when I was expecting (other than the company-subsidized daycare operated by my husband’s then-employer, which had a two year waiting list). The building is old, and it’s not in the most glamourous part of town. But they do a pretty good job, and we’re happy.

In addition to her regular schedule, the daycare center offers special enhanced activities, like a music class, early reading class, Spanish language, etc. We’ve signed The Bean up for the music class every time, because she loves it. When she gets a little older I plan to enroll her in the Spanish and reading classes too.

The other day, a flyer came home describing a new class that they were offering, apparently even to kids as young as The Bean (who won’t be 3 until the end of June): cooking. A cooking class – for toddlers! Um…OK. Don’t get me wrong. I can see where they are going with this: helping kids understand how food is prepared, the dangers of the kitchen and how to be safe, etc. But honestly, is a kid really ready for an activity like that at 2 or 3 years old? I don’t think so. My guess would be more like 5 or 6. Maybe 4, if your kid is really precocious. So I didn’t sign her up for cooking. Does that make me a bad mommy? I don’t think so. I think cooking class for a 2-year-old is just too much.