And the end of the school year is here. We spent a big part of it at home, but every time it was possible to go to the school, Olivia was very happy to go. At the end, children received a bunch of colorful awards and a four-page evaluation of the work during the year. And they also got homework for holidays, which Olivia was very happy about - to breakfast an ice cream, to climb a tree, to build something from the sand, to stay up until sunset and so on.
We came up with a new project with our kids. We drew together, calculated how much wood we need and went to buy it together. Then Andrej sawed it and cut it and the children helped to drill holes and to assemble it. And finally, house beds were created, well actually only house frames, but the joy was great. We will also sew some walls and windows for them, so that there is something to do while we are at home :)
Dominik grows and grows. He talks non-stop from morning till evening. He knows everything the best and he is able to explain how the things work although he has no clue. He is still such a cuddle bear, he likes hugging and kissing but on other hand he can be very unapproachable and stubborn and won’t do anything what someone else wants. He wanted a skateboard a lot for his birthday.
Olivia goes to school this week. So I dusted off my sewing machine and sewed some children mouth masks. Somehow, time is changing, it is no longer “I have to go to school again” but rather “Hooray I can go to school!”. Half of the class had a school last week, half now and only three school hours per day, but it is so much better than nothing. They don’t have time to do everything, they have to do the rest at home, but Olivia somehow doesn’t mind at all and does everything without complaining.
We have been home due to Corona virus for five weeks. We went through a phase of enthusiasm but also a phase of why I have to do homework and Dominik doesn’t have to. Working and doing all the school tasks at the same time is still a challenge. It was good that there was a two-week holiday break and some time off in the meantime. Somehow, I feel like I’m not properly at work nor with children.
Olivia celebrated her seventh birthday. Firstly, children sang her a birthday song on a pony riding course, then she got a special birthday drink in a restaurant and after holidays she celebrated with her friends at home. After a birthday cake, they searched for a treasure together, they made keychains and ended the celebration with pizza. For school, we prepared muffins and decorated them together.
She still likes climbing and swimming.
Olivia wanted to ride a horse for some time ago, but in addition to all the activities we have, it seemed impossible to me. So sometimes we went to ride a pony and, as I led him, I was hoping he was lazy enough to run away. Then, in the autumn, we discovered holiday courses with Icelandic ponies, which, in addition to being cute, walk so that it does not burden the spine.
Last year Dominik was doing quite well, which roughly means that he managed to slow down and make small arches on the slope in the children’s area. Olivia learned to ski with the ski poles and she was skiing great, what we were really happy about. This year, Dominik could also join the ski course in Ostin organized by kindergarten. But there was not so much snow, so they were only in the children’s area all the time.
Our lovely children got picture cookbooks for Christmas. With their help, they are able to cook everything by themselves. I only helped them to find the needed ingredients. They already tried to make mini pizzas, muffins, sponge cake, baked potatoes, salad, baked pasta and waffles. Everything was delicious! They enjoyed cooking and were very proud of themselves. Yummy!
A new school year began and Olivia became a Year One pupil. On the first day, she walked enthusiastically with the school cone and school bag to school. Olivia goes to 1.D class. So far we had more homework than her, but those she had she enjoyed very much. Reward for an active participation at school or for good homework are stamps on a special card. When she gets a certain number of them she may choose an extra reward (we don’t know what it is yet, but it motivates her greatly).