the school year begins!

It's that time of year: the beginning of school.  This morning, K woke up around 4 a.m. wondering whether it was morning yet as she was anxious to go to school to start grade 2.  N attended her kindergarten orientation this afternoon.  Both K & N took apples for their teachers this afternoon.  They both had a great first day and are excited to return to school.

I never realized how much of parenting was an act of self-discipline.  In the early years, self-discipline consisted mostly of eating good and healthy food groups.  Now, as we start the school year, I am bracing myself to do the daily reading (in French) with K.

Last week, I started piano lessons K started group piano lessons with Music for Young Children (MYC) which is an excellent program to introduce children to piano, music theory and ear training.  I really wish I had the opportunity to participate in elementary group piano lessons as a child as they are so much more fun than having personal piano study with a teacher.  However, I have already done my 6+ years of piano study as a child so I find attending one-hour long group lessons and monitoring practices a bit burdensome!

Today, I registered K in Kumon so that she can practice and improve her math skills.  I'm hoping that she'll see the fruits of her labour herself so that she will develop self-discipline.  Yup, I know: wishful thinking.  My dh has volunteered to take her to Kumon class once per week.

With all this self-discipline that I am exercising and modelling, you'd think that I'd be able to climb mountains.  Nicht.  I suspect my personal self-discipline is fully consumed in parenting.