the everyday and the exhilirating

We have settled into our new routine around here. Most weekdays all four of us are at school all day and then we have our evening hours to eat, play, dance and read together. Occasionally, there is an after-school adventure: a class, a trip to the playground or a biking/running outing. My new form of exercise consists of Jove biking while I run chasing him with Miranda in the jogging stroller; I am sure it looks pretty funny, but it works for all of us.

Miranda and Jove both greatly enjoy the time they spend at their schools. I am very happy with Jove's teacher and it seems to be right at the level where Jove is learning new skills that build upon what he already knows and building his confidence both socially and academically. Schools here in the Northeast can be very competitive and over-the-top pushing early academics and we specifically chose a school that we felt would have a less competitive pace. The school is the only ethnically diverse elementary school in Jup's district which is something we value greatly. So far, so good with kindergarten....

Miranda loves her toddler Montessori program. They do a lot of music making, singing and dancing which are some of Miranda's favorite activities. They have a lot of free play time which Miranda's teacher tells me she mainly spends playing with dinosaurs or in the play house with the dollies. There are only 5-7 toddlers in the program, depending on the day, and they seem to really enjoy being together. They go outside a couple of times a day, do Montessori activities: pouring, rolling, putting shapes in size order and they do art everyday. It is an amazing place and Miranda is very happy to go.

At home, Jove and Miranda spend their time building, drawing and coloring, role playing, crafting, reading and dressing up. The most entertaining part of Miranda's play right now is the time she spends arranging her plastic animals, having them talk to each other and feeding them playdoh. Hilarious!

Our weekends are spent getting together with friends and family and spending time hiking, biking and gardening. While it is still relatively warm and the leaves are BEAUTIFUL we are spending as much time in the forest as possible. We had a geo-caching (GPS treasure hunt) in the woods near a farm last weekend and Jup and I spent the day yesterday hiking in Minnewaska State Park which about 90 miles north of the city. This place is a gem and it was my first time there. The lake is part of a group of sky lakes that were carved out by glaciers. We hiked along cliff edges, crossed brooks and looked out over valleys and farms. The midwest and its Great Lakes will always have my heart, but the mountains of the Northeast have my soul.