August was full of activities and a big transition back to school. The kids started off the month with camps. Then had a break week before rolling into the school year. The weather has been very hot, and we’ve been hiding inside as much as possible.
Cordelia did art and fencing camp. She also started her SALT training at school and helped welcome students and families back to school. She has a great group of classes and teachers and is excited about the school year. The first two weeks have been a bit of a transition remembering how to check for assignments and track due dates. Cordelia continued with piano for the month but at the end of the month there was an opening for clarinet lessons. She is going to try it out in September and see if she likes it. She will also be starting volleyball at school in September.
Anthony enjoyed art camp and won first place in his group for fencing camp. His soccer team had another tournament this month. It’s still a bit sad to see them losing all the games. Unfortunately, in addition to losing all the games, Anthony got a red card for accidently tripping from behind. In piano Anthony, after the recital, he started getting some new harder songs and is still getting over the hump. Anthony started helping in Natalie’s soccer class as “assistant coach Tony” since the class is taught by his old coach. It’s fun seeing him learn how to work with the younger kids. Transitioning to school was a bit of a challenge for Anthony. After a bumpy first week of drop-offs he seems to have gained some self-assurance and is feeling more comfortable. He has a great teacher and lots of activities in class to keep him occupied. 5th grade has a lot of homework, so the days are full. For 5th grade band he will be playing bass.
Lydia enjoyed art camp but fencing camp was a bit challenging. Lydia is enjoying 3rd grade. She’s in the same class as one of her closest friends from last year, so she’s happy about that. There are 15 kids in her class, so it’s a very fun small class. 3rd grade is learning the recorder for music class and she’s having a fun time practicing that. Lydia is continuing to work through her piano books and is getting close to finishing level 1.
Natalie had her week of camp Grand-Powers before school started. She’s doing well being back at the Montessori and is having more fun in school since it’s challenging her. Her reading and math skills have both greatly increased. Natalie is continuing in soccer. The first session in Skills 1 just finished and she’ll be continuing in Skills 1 for the next session. She really needs to improve on her engagement in the group play and not give up when someone takes the ball from her. In piano, Natalie is really getting the feel for playing. She just passed the first beginner book at the end of the month and is on to book 2!
Alicia celebrated her birthday with a nice day surrounded by family. She got treated to a mini shopping outing and spa afternoon. Cordelia and Anthony helped make a strawberry short cake. Alicia’s work has been very challenging this past month. There have been a lot of administrate and paperwork red-tape that’s been making things a bummer. She’s trying to find the good things she’s helping move forward amidst the challenges. She’s continuing to mentor and get her new co-worker up to speed. Mentoring of the junior PEs is setting her up to show her capabilities as a supervisor. At home things have busy. With back-to-school preparations and driving around more for school pickup time has been limited. AWANA preparations also took up a large chunk of time. It is fun getting to organize the groups and build anticipation for the club year. Alicia is grateful for the community and support.
Tim’s work continues to be a challenge as he tackles his chief engineer role and pull all the pieces of the project together. At home the outside temperature has made it less desirable to go and do yard or trailer work. Tim has been making some updates to the garden planting. His tabasco peppers came in nicely. For the trailer he’s working on a built-in dresser box. With the weather being so hot, our attention turned a bit towards the inside of the house, doing some purging and decluttering.
We are thankful that all the kids seem to have settled into their school classes well. We’re hopeful that it will be a great year of learning for all. Starting in September, Tim will start joining into the church music rotation, getting back to his guitar playing. We’re also prepping for the start of the AWANA club year.
