Day 2266. This was week 9 of school for the kids. Their 9th letter of the alphabet they learned was the "u". On Friday they had a dictation again; Emmy did very well while it's hard for Tammy to write the syllables she hears.
As for me, I taught from 10 to 11 and 11:30 to 12:30. Then I had to leave right away to go pick up Sammy; I didn't even have time to eat first. Randy had left at noon to pick up Tammy and Emmy and take them to their tennis class. As they had some time before the class, they first went to the playground near the tennis center and had fun there. They then played tennis from 2 to 3 pm, then walked to the train that would take them across town.
I was pretty tired having taught all morning and glad to finally get some food once Sammy and I got home at 1 pm. We then had two hours at home together. At 3 pm we left and walked to the train station and took the 3:20 train, then got on the subway. It was an old one, and while Sammy had cried in the past when it was since there was no button to push, he now shoes me how strong he is at every stop, pulling the levers so that the doors open. And he's actually able to do it even though you have to pull hard.
Once we reached our stop, we got off and waited on the platform for Randy and the kids to arrive. Then we got on the subway together, but I got off with Tammy and Emmy after a few stops while Randy took Sammy home.
We walked through the mall to the studio where they have their breakdance class at 4 pm. As their train had been a few minutes late, they also arrived a few minutes late. Tammy quickly put different clothes on, then also went inside. She was whining a lot while walking there again as she had already done a lot of walking and was tired.
Once they were in their class, I went to the lounge and lay down on the couch and closed my eyes after having set a 40-minute timer. I was just falling into deeper sleep when Sammy called me with the Alexa device at home which is something he loves doing. I picked up and asked Randy not to let him do that as I was trying to take a nap. However, I was not able to fall back asleep. When the time of their class ending came closer, I got up and walked back to their classroom. Thanks to the glass wall I was able to watch them dance. In fact, they were practicing handstands, when I got there, and I was able to take some pictures.
At 5 pm the class ended, and we walked through the mall to get to the subway. We got to the train station in time to take the 5:18 train that was a few minutes late - actually 12 minutes late which was long enough for the kids to really be freezing. And it meant getting home later than usual. I only had 20 minutes to cut their fruit for them and get ready for my 6 pm student.
I taught from 6 to 7 pm, then we did piano practiced followed by the bathtub. I still read them a story before they went to bed and before I had to sit down to teach at 8 pm.
Last night I went to bed later than intended and then I couldn't sleep for a while. Emmy then came, and later Tammy came as well as she joins us in bed about once a week while Emmy comes every night. And last night was the first night for him to try again to sleep with training pants instead of a diaper. Tammy hasn't needed a diaper to sleep at night for a very long time, over a year. Emmy got his pants wet again but put another one on that stayed dry the rest of the night.
This morning I could have slept until 9:30 am but of course I got woken up quite frequently. I then got up, and just before 10 am I left the house with Tammy and Emmy. We took the subway downtown, doing reading practice, then rode our scooters to their music school. We got there early, as usual, and I wanted to register them for next semester to get the early bird price but no one was at the reception desk. I finally returned to the classroom, and then the class started nearly 15 minutes late.
She started with the greeting song and then the finger warm-up. Then she went straight to the last song we had done and had them circle all the Fi's in there. Then she had them sing it, then sing the notes. Homework was to play that song with each hand separately, but Tammy and Emmy can already play it with both hands. She then did some of the previous songs, then had them come to the front for the singing song. Then it was story time, followed by them getting their stamps and stickers. They also got a sheet of music with "Jingle Bells" to practice for the Christmas Party. They could choose between and easier and a harder version, and of course our kids got the harder version.
The class was over but I talked briefly with the teacher about the piano competitition in February I had registered them for. They'll have to memorize 5 or 6 pieces of music for that which I believe they can do.
When we left the building, there were Randy and Sammy who had gone to the playground near the school. Together we walked to the subway and took it to McDonald's. After having eaten, we still had 20 minutes at the playground right there. The kids were having fun. Then Randy left with Sammy to take him to his 1:30 pm music class, while I took Tammy and Emmy home.
I was extremely tired, as always on a Saturday, but I had to prepare for my 2 pm student. The kids were on their tablets while I was teaching. I then had students until 5 pm. Randy and Sammy returned at 3 pm, and after a while upstairs, they all went downstairs to play.
Once I was finally done teaching, I went to the kitchen to make their dinner. They then came upstairs to eat, and I finally had a little break. At 7 pm they went into the bathtub, then they still did some homework for their maths club tomorrow. It was late but we still did story time, then they went to bed later than usual, at about 8:30 pm. I got myself something to eat and to watch, then went back to work.
