First Parent-Teacher Interview

Last week, we had our first ever parent-teacher interview. We met the kindergarten teacher after school, while our 5 year old headed to her cousin's house. We didn't quite know what to expect. Before the official sit down, we walked around, met the music teacher, met one of the gym teachers, and perused our daughter's extensive art work portfolio.

I found myself a little nervous. Would our first-born measure up? In the end, we found out that our daughter was a "pleasure to teach", that she was shy (like her Papa) and competitive (like her Mama).

Acting goofy after school (centre)

The First Snow

I woke up Tuesday morning, opened my curtains, and saw white. I rubbed my eyes, took a second look, and realized that it was snow! So excited were the girls that they got ready for school in record time.

Outside #1's school 

#2 making a snow angel

After school with a classmate

Off School

It seems that recently, my 5-year old has had more days off school than on between pedagogical days and strike days.  Not that I am complaining. Our morning routine has gotten easier as there is no mad rush to get my kindergartener to school on time. On a recent day off, we decided to head to the Biodome along with my cousin and her three kids. Try as I might, it was difficult to get them all to look at the camera. Here are a couple of attempts:

My Star of the Week

All the children in my five-year-old's kindergarten class get to be "star of the week" for an entire week. On the first day, they tell everyone their name, age, favourite food, favourite colour, and favourite activities. On day two, the teacher shows 20 photos that the parents prepare on a USB drive of their child's important moments. On day three, they bring in a sampling of their arts and crafts project of previous years. On day four, they take in their favourite book and song to share with their classmates. And finally, on day five, they bring in their favourite toy to share with their friends. Additionally, the star helps the teacher throughout the week. Our daughter felt very special during this last week, her star week. We, on the other hand, were exhausted, and happy the week was over as it involved quite a bit of preparation.

At the end of the week, her wonderful teacher had compiled drawings that all the children had done, explaining why our daughter was special to them. Although she cannot read the comments yet, she thoroughly enjoys looking at the pictures her classmates had sketched for her.

#1 in her school photo

So Long Fireplace/Art Display

Our kids love to colour, cut, glue, and paste. And up until last week, we had an excellent place to display their artwork: the fireplace mantel. We never actually used it as a fireplace. We had baby-proofed it as soon as we moved in, and despite the cold winter, we avoided using it last year:

Finally, a few weeks ago, we decided to convert the wood-burning fireplace to a biofuel equivalent. We decided to incorporate a television and sound bar. Here are the photos of the transition:

But the question remained, where to display the artwork? Finally, a little bit of painter's tape in the mud room seemed to do the trick:

The Three Trick-or-treaters

They started off as three, but the youngest quickly got scared by some of the decorations. She returned home after less than a dozen houses. She spent the rest of the evening handing out chocolate bars with her father. The older two were successful in their hunt for candy, filling their bags. We stayed on our street, and got to chat with a number of our neighbours.

Best quotes of the evening:

S2 "my tummy is full, can I eat the rest tomorrow?"
S3 "my tummy hurts" then passed some gas

Baby Skates for the First Time

She was very excited about skating. We had searched for over a month for skates and a helmet her size, and we were finally successful one week prior to the beginning of skating lessons. She went on the ice with her father, while her middle sister skated in a different class, but on the same rink. Her older sister watched, as her class was to start only once her sisters got off the ice.

She fell often, and got a little frustrated. There were a few tears near the end, but overall it was a fun experience for all.