Month in Review

I can't believe the summer passed by without a single post from yours truly. I have no excuse except to say it's really hard to type on your laptop while simultaneously splashing around in a swimming pool.

Now, it's September. The pools are drained and the inflatable one in our backyard has been folded up and put away, leaving a big empty patch of dirt in our backyard. The toads are surely unhappy that we've taken away their nice wet habitat. We have a lot of toads in our backyard. Every couple of weeks I have to mow the lawn very slooooooowly so as not to commit toad genocide.

Lua started kindergarten this month. On her first few days, I thought she might burst from excitement. She was so ready to be in a structured environment. So ready to be around friends and sing songs and play games. Of course the honeymoon period doesn't last, and now she complains to me as I drag her out of bed in the mornings:

"Mom, I'm too bored. The day is so long, but it's too short to learn anything. Can't I just stay home and play with friends?" When I remind her that all of her friends are in school too, for longer days than she is (she's doing half-day kindergarten) , she just sighs as if dragging her into class to sing the alphabet and eat goldfish crackers is equal on the torture scale to, say, holding her up by her ears.

Of course, once we actually get Lua to school she does just fine. She has such a pressing desire to learn that it outweighs her own lethargy every time. I decided since she's not feeling challenged that I would add some work for her to do when she gets home in the afternoon. We've printed out some worksheets and done some art work and worked on reading skills. Yesterday when she read the first twenty pages of "Go Dog Go" I had a sinking feeling that I was doing more damage than good. If I teach her to read now, what is she going to do with herself for the rest of the year in school? Perhaps we should work on some skills that she won't be getting in her regular class. Hm...maybe I should pull out the Russian flash cards that I made in high school.

Charlie started preschool this month too. Today is just his second day of school, so I'm not sure how much I can really comment on it yet. He was very shy when we went to meet his teachers but since then he's seemed to warm up to everything. Apparently he even spoke to people last week, which is much more than I expected from him for September. When Charlie's at home he gifts us with a never-ending narrative of his day but when he's out in public he's usually much more reserved. Where Lua's teacher told us the first week that she was standing in front of people's cubbies and pointing out to them where they should put their things, I expected Charlie to stay to himself, quietly observing the class for the first few weeks. Happily, he seems to be loving class, and acting his cheerful, inquisitive best.

That is a round up of our lives at the moment. I have a few goals for myself as the school year starts as well. Four hours a week (when Charlie is in preschool) may not seem like a lot, but it's at least enough to keep up with this blog a little more. Wish me luck!