School Begins

For a year and a half the boys have all been going to Bubbies House, a daycare in westwood. They love it there and I love it too! They come home singing new songs and with new skills that I have not taught them. It is fascinating to watch them grow.

Over the summer we played at the pool and the boys would count to ten before jumping in. It was then I saw that they had learned to count to 10 in Hebrew! All 3 of them!

The artwork they produce is pretty impressive too! I get 3 of everything. So for Rosh Hashana I received 3 cards, 3 honey plates, 3 shofar paintings, 3 3D pictures of apples dipped in honey and 3 prayer books. Quite a collection. Not including the traditional crayon on paper coloring book excerpts.

We increased their hours and enhanced their experience there starting last week. Now they go from 9-3:30 instead of 9:30-1. What a difference. They divided the kids up at the daycare so that the 3 & 4 yr olds could learn more at their level and the 2 yr olds at theirs and then the babies have a far less structured day. Yakov was pretty disappointed this was the first time he has been separated from his brothers. Whats really funny is that the 3 & 4 yr olds call themselves the "Big Kids" The only major difference is that the 2yr olds still have a nap and the "Big Kids" have quiet time with books or quiet toys.

They learn so much. They daven in the morning so they are learning their prayers, they know all the brachot for food. Best of all they are fed lunch. So all I pack in the morning are 3 mitzvah notes. 3 post-its that give credit to each of them for a particular mitzvah they did, like "Dear Morah, Avi got dressed all by himself before waking up mommy. Love Mommy"

This daily freedom is only temporary as I am due with boy #4 in December. So til then I will enjoy my free time to do food shopping, make dinner, go to a pre-natal yoga class or have a coffee or lunch with a friend. In 3 months time I will have a newborn to keep me busy. By the time the kids come home its almost 4 and bedtime is 7. We run a tight ship here but it works!