Ice skating

Every school year I have grand aspirations to be more involved in the kids' school. Help out, get to know the teacher and other parents. But somehow the whole year goes by, and at the end I still don't know a single soul. Now all the kids are in school, so I can't use the excuse of having a toddler at home anymore.

School rules here are a lot more lax, and parents are still treated like parents, rather than convicted fellons. Each morning, the parents take their young children into the school. Help them put away their jackets and backpacks. Get their lunch into the lunch crate, and help them into the classroom. Say hi to the teacher, give the child a kiss and a hug, and then move on their way. Compare this to the Plano schools where the parents are only allowed in the school if they've had a criminal background check, get a picture ID badge for each visit, and are only granted access at certain times of the day. The children get dropped off the same way a prescription is at a pharmacy; Open the car door, kid jumps out, and disappears. Of course I realize the US schools are only trying to protect the students, but they certainly go way overboard in my honest opinion.

The elementary kids went to the ice skating rink today. Parents signed up to drive them there, and again, no bodyguards involved. Originally I hadn't signed up to drive, but this morning I just kept thinking about the fun pictures I would miss out on. None of my kids had ever gone skating before. I expected Ginger and Sterling to be grumpy and whine. I expected Winter to have fun. The complete opposite happened. By the time I got there, Ginger was at the end of her hour time slot, and was all smiles. Even when she fell down.

Sterling took off like a bullet, and I just couldn't stop laughing at the ridiculousness of his skating style.

Winter on the other had, was frustrated and in tears.

Unfortunately Sterling's happiness only lasted until he crashed hard on his head, and developed a major goose egg.

And fortunately Winter got the hang of skating, and wants to go again as soon as possible.

How volatile their moods can be!

Sterling and Winter with their English friends Hannah and Darren