Day 2326. After less than four hours of sleep my alarm went off at 6:15 am. Tammy was on my left, and Emmy on my right. Randy got up to make breakfast, and a few minutes later the rest of us also got up. It was their first day back in school after the two-week Christmas break, and none of us was used to getting up this early any more. They were too tired to eat. Soon Tammy, Emmy and I were ready to leave the house, even though we still had time so we had to wait a little before leaving so we would not have to wait at the bus stop in the cold for too long. We took the 7:12 am bus, then another bus and got to school before it opened up at 7:45 am. We waited in the cold for five minutes, then they let us in.
Every Wednesday they learn a new letter, and every week two parents are welcome to be a part from 8 until 9:30 am. Today it was finally my turn. I went into the building with the kids and put my coat and shoes with theirs in their locker room, then we went upstairs to their classroom. Their teacher was already there, as was the school director who happens to be the teacher's mother. They welcomed me, but it was not 8 am yet which is when they start. Tammy and Emmy sat down at their desk; they now sit together in one group, with 4 other kids. We also looked at the two mice they have in their classroom.
Then it was time for class to start. The teacher had everyone come to the front and sit in a circle on the floor. Every day two different chosen kids get to sit on either side of the teacher, and today it was Emmy's turn. She then asked the kids what date it was, what day of the week, what month and what year, and different kids got to update the cards on the board. Emmy got to put up what the weather was like.
Then the teacher showed them the letter, or rather the sound of the day - it was the "ch". She showed them how to write it, then all the kids had to write it with their fingers on their desk, and the teachers went from kid to kid to check whether they did it right. Then they each got a piece of paper with the 14 stations written on it that they had to start doing one after another until 9:30 am. And that's where I came in. The kids would come to me to tell me what station they had done, and I would give them a stamp for it. They also came to me with questions that I helped them with.
Tammy and Emmy were clearly very happy that I was there. Emmy hugged me quite often and when I left at 9:30, he told me in front of everyone that he loved me. That was really sweet. I had enjoyed my time there but was also glad I got to leave. I'm amazed that these little kids are able to concentrate for 90 minutes.
I just wanted to get home as fast as possible and decided to go a different way, hoping to save time but that was not the case. It was about 10:10 am by the time I was home.
I had planned to cook but was so exhausted and unable to keep my eyes open that I had to lie down instead. I set my timer and fell asleep. At 11 am it went off, and I got up to get ready to teach at 11:30 am. I taught until 12:30 pm, then I made myself some soup to eat. Randy had already made himself something. He left at 12:45 pm, and I left just after 1 pm. It was time for me to go back to their school again to pick them up.
I rode two buses and still had time so I went to the grocery store and bought a few items, then I walked to their school where I still had to wait until they came out which was later than usual. We then walked to the bus stop and took two buses, then walked the rest of the way home. Randy had taken Sammy to school in the morning - with his new devices - and picked him up 1 pm to take him to his weekly horse therapy at 2 pm.
Back home, I suggested to the kids we'd do piano practice right away as there was no time later, but they were not very keen to do so and I was so very tired, so it took us a while. Randy and Sammy got home at 3 pm, and that's when we went downstairs. Emmy practiced first, then it was Tammy's turn but she was not happy, and it was getting worse. It was impossible to practice like that so I gave up after two minutes. For the rest of the time until they left I tried to encourage her to go do piano practice with me but she was upset with me and wanted nothing to do with me. I went to work on the computer instead.
Just after 4:30 pm Randy left with Tammy and Emmy to take them to their swim class while Sammy and I stayed home. At 5:15 the two of us got ready to leave the house and took the subway to the bakery to pick up left-over bread for a third of the price. The lady there really likes Sammy and was happy to see him. We got the bread and went back home where I made Sammy some fresh bread with salami, then started cutting up fruit for all three kids to eat.
At 6:30 pm I started teaching. Randy and the kids were supposed to get home around 6:45 pm, so Sammy had 15 minutes to occupy himself which he can manage. However, Randy and the kids missed the 6:30 pm train and had to wait for the next one, getting home just after 7 pm which was a long time for Sammy to wait for their return without me being available to him. I was proud of how well he'd done!
By 7:30 pm I was done and went downstairs with Tammy to give piano practice one more try. She was still not happy with me but better. She did her practice but kept it short which was okay given how late it was. Then the boys went into the bathtub. Once they came out, it was so late that I prayed for them and sent them to bed. Tammy was already asleep, and I had to wake her up so she'd put her pj's on.
It was after 8:15 pm before Emmy was in bed. It was high time after such an early morning. For me, tonight was the last weekday night without teaching as I start up again tomorrow. I had already cut up my salad earlier and sat down to eat and enjoyed it. Then I went back to work. Now it's 12:15 am, and I have to clean up the kitchen before going to bed.
