Birthdays, festival, uniforms, and teething!

  Life is very busy, and I originally wrote this post 2 weeks ago and never got a chance to post it. So I am posting it now!

   This week has been a crazy busy week. Both Daddy and I celebrated our birthdays (we are a day apart in birthdays). I tried really hard to surprise Daddy with a take-out form his favourite Chinese food restaurant, but apparently the people who own that restaurant did not know about my plans and took a 3 week vacation. I was very surprised when I phoned to place an order and the answering machine informed me that the restaurant is closed due to a 3 week holidays that the owners were taking. Sometimes, I wish that people could read my mind!

Little Monkey's dance class ... and why I think it's a great idea.

Girly Monkey in sport class

   Little Monkey had his first dance class today. All the classes for the other Monkeys are in full swing now, and Little monkey was the last one to start his. Last year he took a dance class with the great teacher that we really love, and we wanted to continue with the same kind of class for this year. It was a creative dance class with no particular emphasis on any type of dance style. It was a class designed for 2 to 3 year olds, so it was right up our alley. But this year that class filled up quite quickly and we were not able to get in. I put Little Monkey on waiting list, but we never heard of any openings for that class. So I searched a bit and found another class run by the same, wonderful teacher that has taught all my kids before. The only differences in the classes was that it was a Ballet class for 3 to 5 year olds and it was at a community center situated a bit further from our house. Since there was only one spot left in that class I signed him up right away.
   So today was the first day of his new Ballet class. Last year we had Girly Monkey helping him in class (he was more willing to do things in class if he saw his older sister doing them too), but this year I wanted him to try to do it on his own. Since we already took classes with that teacher, there were a lot of things that were repeater from last year. He knew many routines that she had in this class and he didn't feel lost. Plus, now that he is 3, I expect more things from this Little Monkey.

First week and Ballet for Boys and Girls.

   The first week of school is over and the excitement of school has wore off a bit. This morning, Monkeys were very excited to have their day off school. The only one complaining about lack of school-work was Little Monkey. I think that this had something to do with him getting a "smelly" sticker once he finished his work, and no school-work means no sticker today. The stickers were a great incentive not only for Little Monkey, but also for the two older Monkeys. I have bought them when I picked up their Math work-books and they are very cute. As an added bonus when you scratch the sticker they smell like fruits. The kids love getting them after they finished their copywork, or math, or Spanish lesson.

Funky Monkey helping Little Monkey

   So what is my review of the first week back?
I think it went smoother than I expected. I am glad that I spent all the hours planning the whole year, because it seem to have saved plenty of time daily.