Starting School

We are now well into our first month of the school year. Patrick is continuing French Immersion for his grade 2 year. William, Michael, and Jocelyn have started at a local Montessori school. So far, so good.

Patrick continues to struggle with the fact that school-based learning has too many worksheets and not enough interactive experiences for his taste. But, he is being a good sport about it. His favourite times of the school day are reading his novels on the bus and playing computer games when he has completed his assigned school work.

Jocelyn, William, and Michael have adjusted remarkably well to a full day of school and they seem to be thriving in separate classrooms. For some reason, Jocelyn has decided she would rather have William's teacher, but her teacher says she is doing very well in the classroom. Michael loves the school and talks about wanting to go back when it is time to leave. William loves the other kids that he is meeting. They all get excited when they talk about the work that they enjoy. There is a small amount of discomfort when it turns out that they are not all doing the same thing in their different classes, but not much. Mostly, they just seem excited to see each other at the end of a day apart.

As for me, I'm still adjusting. I have not figured out how to make 4 lunches, feed everybody breakfast and get the breakfast put away before getting the kids off to school. I know a lot of parents make school lunches in the evening, but Patrick likes to have a hot lunch, so I have to make it in the morning. And, I'm not making 2 different lunches. So, for now, I need to make 4 lunches in the morning. Nobody has been late for school or missed the bus, yet. I just have a breakfast mess to clean up after everybody else has gone. All in all, not a bad start to the year.

What I Did on My Summer Vacation

This summer, I didn't make time to write about individual events as they happened. So, rather than overwhelm you with details, I will give you the summary, InterPlay style. In this InterPlay storytelling form, players take turns completing the phrase "I could tell you about...." Like this:

I could tell you about hiking in gorges and walking under waterfalls.

I could tell you about face painting, roller coasters, and cotton candy.

I could tell you about Highland Games and Renaissance Festivals.

I could tell you about taking the kids to Niagara Falls to meet their grandparents who were there for a brief stop as part of a bus tour. I would make sure to tell you about the way their ice cream treats melted all over their faces.

I could tell you about catching millipedes and slugs with butterfly nets. And how the slugs got out of the collecting jars.

I could tell you about enormous chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream cones, vegetable gardens overflowing with produce, and picnics in beautiful places.

I could tell you about Patrick's excitement that he passed the swim test to swim in the deep end of the pool on his first day of Soccer Camp. Or about the fact that he was tall enough to ride all the rides by himself at the Trumansburg Fair.

I could tell you about Michael, William and Jocelyn taking their first swimming lessons. Or taking their first ferry ride. Or going on their first sailboat.

I could tell you about going to Stratford with Andy for a night away from the kids and watching Christopher Plummer as Prospero. Or about being allowed to sleep in as my mother took care of the kids for a while.

I could tell you about bruises, of splinters and bee stings. But I would much rather talk about fire truck rides, balloon toys and playgrounds, or swimming and sailing and sand-castle building. But mostly, I could tell you about adventure and fun that we shared with lots of friends and family.

It was a good summer.