Nelson Day

Nelson day. Sophie was right into gymnastics today... only hung back for a couple of minutes right at the start. I’ve never had a kid so young who partipicated so eagerly. Maybe we’re getting incrementally less introverted kids as we keep at this racket. She’s the youngest kid by a good 6 months and the smallest by far, but is doing great at skills and following directions.

Erin and Noah are doing well in gymnastics too. Noah is feeling strong and capable. He’s the youngest in his (7-to-10yo) class and is definitely in the more able half. His listening skills (and Erin’s too) are exemplary. Erin was actually keen to do some math problems during Sophie’s gymnastics class. She’s feeling quite comfortable with the current work and she always does math willingly when it’s interesting but relatively easy.

Grocery shopping. I left the older two to eat in the minivan and join us in the store when they were done. Just before that we dropped off a friend at her house after gymnastics. She’s older than Erin, and I laughed when I realized it was less than 2 blocks that she’d have had to walk, in a safe little Canadian town. Why don’t people give their kids this kind of responsibility? I had fun shopping. We weren’t in a rush, and I bought a few special little things for the kids for Hallowe’en. Bought them another Garfield book of comics. Noah reads them repeatedly for reading practice and pleasure, so they’re worthwhile. Erin devours them.

At piano lessons, Noah got a lot of positive feedback about his latest composition "Achilles’ Death". His teacher was really impressed and that was clear to him. He was very pleased. Composition seems to be the area Noah has chosen to be comfortable with recognition, much as Erin is with performing.

I had to work tonight. Because Erin agreed to drop Youth Choir this year, I had time to cook and eat supper after getting back from Nelson and before heading out to Nakusp (in the opposite direction). The kids watched the second half of a miniseries on the Halifax explosion of 1917. We have a short historical fiction book about it, which I hope the kids will be interested in hearing aloud soon, but we’ve got so many novels on the go right now it’ll be a while.

No violin practising today. Sometimes a surprise holiday is a good thing. I announced at supper that I thought it was a good day for a break. The kids agreed.