First day of school!

So in Australia you start school the week after Australia day. School runs from the end of January until the middle of December. The year is broken up into 4 terms and we get two weeks off in between each term. I did the math and figured out my kids are missing out on about 4- 6 weeks of summer vacation that they otherwise would have had in the USA...and I wasn't counting any snow days.

Olivia is in Year 1 and has Miss Wong who she calls miss Swan. All the girls call her this because (1) it rhymes and (2) because she thinks her teacher is graceful and beautiful like a swan. She is a new teacher, young and really enthusiastic and happy. Olivia has to wear uniforms to school and her school also has a no hat no play rule. Once she forgot her hat and she came home and told me that they said "no hat, no play, you can't have any fun today"... I was thinking, what kind of a rhyme is that? But, it is true, the kids have to stay inside if they don't have a hat.

Mary is in preschool this year (just the one year before kindy). She has two teachers a girl and a boy and she is in heaven. They have a big yard to play in, a sand pit, obstical courses, singing time, painting, play dough, toys and nap time. It is M-W from 9:00-3:00 and Mary is pretty tired at the end of they day. I packed Olivia and Mary's lunches identical and Olivia came home with left overs and Mary asked me for more food in her lunch box at the end of the day.

Thomas is my 18 mo baby who stays at home with me. It is so fun having one baby at home with me while the older kids are at school. I can get all sorts of errands done and KEEP the house clean (at least while he naps) and have time to work-out and even take naps. Thomas is a crazy baby. He can swim with a little foam pad strapped to his back....Serious goes the length of the pool and back. He walks up the stairs without holding onto anything and when he does the stairs he goes a whole step each time without bringing his feet together on the same step. He is so tiny it looks really funny. He still doesn't talk much with the exception of BUG!...which he yells all the time, and Ball and Baba. I know he has it in him though because I have heard Popsicle, dinosaur, and bubble bath...but growling seems to work so much better for all three. Serious, boys are so different from girls it is hilarious!