Cold Weather Fun

The weather in Montreal has been frigid as of late. Like -20 degrees Celsius frigid...Not warm enough for sledding, nor for outdoor skating. But certainly warm enough for dressing up like Mama:

On choosing an elementary school for our pre-schooler

S1 will start kindergarten in September, and with registration coming up in a few days, we had a busy week.

We narrowed down the schools to two: the local public french school, and a nearby french-immersion school from the English school board. We are just outside the school bus zone for the latter, and would have to drive our kids daily for the next 8 years...

In order to get a better sense of the schools, I visited both: one held an open house that I was able to attend, and the other I visited on appointment. I was duly impressed by both, and I find myself undecided...

Building a snowman at pre-school

First Piano Lessons

Our piano came with 8 free lessons. And so it was that today, while Mama worked, Papa took three little girls for their very own piano lessons. S1 had a private 30 minute class. We weren't sure if she would last the entire lesson but she did remarkably well. This was followed by an introductory music class which S3 and S2 attended along with their Papa. S2 was very clingy, and refused to participate, but much to our surprise, Baby was very active participant. They played with a variety of instruments, and even sang a few songs.

When I got home from work, Baby wanted to show me what she learned, and lead me to the piano. After a mini concert, she proceeded to close the cover herself, no fingers caught!

Back to School!

This Monday, the girls returned to pre-school, I perhaps more eager than them. So eager that I forgot their indoor shoes, and had to return home. Although a little later than usual, I got to work out for the first time in several weeks. The girls seemed happy to return to their classrooms and gave their teachers big hugs. S2 complained a little, and asked me to buy her a penguin. Luckily, several hours later, when I returned to pick them up, she had forgotten all about her request.

Our two-week winter break was quite enjoyable, and included:

-several trips to the local indoor pool
-one trip to the rink with the older girls (no skates the size of Baby's feet!)
-an outing to the Science Museum
-3 trips to the Ecomuseum
-2 visists to Grandma's house
-several visits to a kid's gym for "free-play"

And somehow, we managed to avoid large crowds. Having three early-risers has to have it's benefits...

Our last outing of the winter break: A trip to the eco-museum

The young pianists: a photo

The very first piece of furniture for our living room finally arrived, and the girls had a blast: