The kids and I attended the meet and greet for the Co-Op we start next week. There's a nice mix of ages and several Francophone families so the kids will get a chance to hear/speak/practice their french.

If ever I doubted the decision to put a pass through in the kitchen there's no doubt now. A and E demonstrated, thanks to an empty pizza cover and some NERF guns, another great use for it.
SoapBox Warning
I'm climbing up on my soapbox to talk about something I think a lot of kids today are missing out on. Essentially the opportunity to see themselves as part of a bigger picture. A bigger picture that started long before they were born and will continue long after they are gone. (I understand there are developmental stages at which children learn to understand the concept of time.) I'm talking about hearing and experiencing the adults around them send the message that not everything is about TODAY - RIGHT NOW and ME/MYSELF and I.
Do our kids hear us talk about our lives before they were born?
Do they just see that daddy wanted a new car and bought it or do they know that he looked at Subarus for 10 years before being able to purchase one-second hand?
Do they know we make plans for after they leave home?
Do they understand that there are people in the world whose lives are so different that they might as well be from a different era? (Kids in some countries don't have 4 cereal choices...they don't even have cereal!!)
I would rather my kids holler at me, "Well when I grow up I'm going to let my kids eat chocolate for breakfast", than, "You're the meanest parent ever in the world". One comment sends the message that they understand they have a future where they will have more control and the other sends the message that they believe they are the centre of the universe.
Anyway, in an effort to encourage the boys to develop their understanding of cyclical change over time and their place in the 'big picture' we are doing a few things this year.
#1 - We are tracking the weather all year. The weather charts will go up, one beside the other, on the wall.
Hopeful Lesson- the earth has a cycle that is more complex than spring-summer-fall-winter.

#2 - We are drawing a timeline as we progress through our history book this year.
For example, the Sumerian dictatorship circa 2350BC.
Or, the baby who was floated down a river in a basket by his mother who couldn't keep him and subsequently became king of Sumeria circa 2300BC. (Sounds like Moses' story.)
Or, Hammurabi's Code circa 1750BC (E pointed out this bears a striking resemblance to the TenCommandments both in content and delivery.)
Hopeful Lesson-History is both foreign and familiar and it repeats!!
#3- I am taking pictures of the boys each week. At the end of the year we will have 40 pictures of them slowly growing and changing.
Hopeful Lesson-things are always changing...even when you can't see it in the right now. Things will look different in retrospect.
SoapBox Warning Ended