6 years 15 days

Day 2206. Yesterday week 2 of school for the kids started, and they were looking forward to it. The alarm went off at 6:15 am, and Randy took the 7:12 bus with Tammy and Emmy to take them to school where they arrived just before school opened at 7:45 am. I left with Sammy just after 8 am to take him to his school, from there I had one more stop on the subway to go to the gym. I was extremely tired but I did my workout routine.

Back home I lay down for a much-needed nap. I was thankful that we had leftovers to warm up for lunch. Randy left again at 1 pm to pick up Tammy and Emmy, while I left a few minutes later to go pick up Sammy. We get back to our house before it's 2 pm. Sammy wanted to watch something using the projector, and he needed a snack. I was getting ready for my 2:30 pm student. Randy and the other kids returned just after I had started teaching. 

By 3:20 pm I was done teaching and went to the kitchen to make their dinner sandwiches. Randy was downstairs with the kids who were playing.  They then came upstairs, and I left with Tammy and Emmy just after 3:45 pm. We took two subways then walked to the premises of where they do their programming class. We got there a few minutes early, but they were not the first ones. They were surprised when they saw a new teacher in their classroom and not the teacher they had last year. At the end of the class their previous teacher came by and told them she was doing another class now.

I left them there and walked to the nearby train station where there is a McDonald's. I bought a Happy Meal for the kids and sat down in a corner. I connected to their Wifi, and my 4:45 pm student was already there. I then taught there until 5:35 pm. I had people sitting nearby but it was not a problem. It worked out very well. Better than the bakery where I've sat in the past as their table had been too small.

After I was done, I packed up my computer and walked back to the kids' school. Ten minutes before the end you're allowed to go in and see what they have done, so I did. They had used Scratch Junior again which they had already done last year; it didn't look like it was anything new. They showed me what they had done, then we said good-bye and left.

They ate their sandwiches on the way home where we arrived just after 6:30 pm. I then went to the kitchen to cut up fruit for them. After they had eaten, we went downstairs for piano practice. Then it was bathtub time. Before they went to bed, I read them a story, and we prayed together. Then I went to the kitchen to make my salad, ate, and did some work. I decided to go to bed early, but it still took a while, and then Emmy came right away.

This morning started the same way as yesterday's. But I returned home after dropping Sammy at school and went to bed and got a nice nap. After I woke back up, I went to the kitchen to make lunch. We both ate, and Randy left at 1 pm to pick up Tammy and Emmy, and a few minutes later I left to pick up Sammy. By 1:45 pm we were back home. Once again Sammy wanted to watch something on the projector. Randy and the other kids returned just after 2:30 pm while I was making their dinner sandwiches in the kitchen.  And at 2:50 pm Emmy and I already left the house together.

Last night I had received an email from Emmy's soccer school that they had a try-out training for their club this afternoon. As Emmy's soccer class only starts in October (also on a Tuesday), I signed him up to give him an opportunity to play soccer at least once this month. However, it was at their headquarters which is an hour away. We rode the bus for one stop, then took a tram for a long time, followed by another tram for a long time. Somehow we got there a good number of minutes before the training started at 4 pm.

We went on the soccer field were he put his soccer shoes on then we waited for 4 pm to arrive. Emmy couldn't just wait but was already playing soccer. Then two trainers arrived and told us we'd be in the back so the parents all walked there. They ticked off everyone who was there, then started. 

They did a warm-up game with a few catchers trying to catch the others first. Emmy is good at that game. Then two older boys crashed into each other, and one of their knees hit Emmy on his forehead. He also went down and was crying. I walked over to him to comfort him, and the trainers declared it was drinking break time. I prayed for Emmy's head, and a few minutes later he was okay again. The trainers then told the boys ( no girls today) to lign up behind the small cones in teams of 5 or so and start dribbling. Emmy and another boy were the best in his group. One of the younger-than-Emmy boys was a bit lost; he was only there because his older brother was playing. 

After they had done the dribble course quite a number of times, with the trainers watching, it was time for the next exercise. They split the kids into two groups, older kids and younger kids. They had set up two goals not too far from each other, and always two kids got to play against each other. I think Emmy got to play 5 times, and he won 3 out of the 5 games. He played very well.

And then it was already 5 pm, and the training was over. The trainers said we'd hear from them by Friday. Emmy put his normal shoes back on and we left. We walked back to the tram stop and got on. Randy had called me a few times, as he had to leave the house with Tammy and Sammy at 4:45 pm to take Tammy to ballet and Sammy was crying. Every time he called I calmed Sammy down. I then suggested to him that Emmy and I come to the dance school instead of going home. That made Tammy very happy as I was gonna take her to ballet today - before soccer came up. And so Emmy and I took the tram and then the bus and got to the dance school at 5:45 which was 15 minutes afer her class had started.

We were discussing what to do, who'd stay and who goes home, and I ended up staying - for Tammy - even though I would have liked to go home. Randy then took the boys home, while I went onto the porch to watch Tammy in her class from there, looking through the window. She's now in the next class up since she's 6 years old, so I was curious to see how this class compares to the one last year. I could tell that it was more challenging than before but it seemed like she was doing well.

Just after 6:20 pm Tammy was done and got changed into her street clothes. I then asked her teacher how Tammy was doing, whether she was up for this class or not. She said that this class was hard for Tammy but that she was very concentrated and was going to be okay. She said she had praised her in front of everybody today because of her great concentration. Good job, Tammy!

Tammy and I walked to the bus stop, took the bus to the subway, and rode the subway home where we arrived at 7:15 pm. It was later than I would have liked. I cut up fruit for them to eat, then we went downstairs for piano practice. Then a quick shower, Bible story, prayer, and bed. I then went to the kitchen to make my salad. I ate, then started working on today's pictures. And that's how it's nearly midnight now. I have to load the dishwasher and go to bed. It's going to be another early morning tomorrow.