Real life reboots

We're finally over our jetlag and all the other disruption that travel causes. Tom is back in the classroom for the first time since last April. Preschool started up again on Monday. I've got about 3 months of maternity leave left, and I'm trying to make the most of it. I'm going to "Post-Natal Boot Camp," a.k.a. the House of Pain, twice a week to help whip myself back into shape. (Well, I guess I'm not whipping myself back into shape so much as paying someone else to whip me into shape, but you get the idea.) Post-natal yoga and afternoon playgroup starts next week, so depending on the weather, I'll be tearing up the streets with my double stroller again. Hopefully by May I'll be in good enough condition to run the 10K in a decent time, which is the goal of all this activity. Plus, it would be nice to be back in my pre-pregnancy clothes before I head back to work. An entire new wardrobe in my current, "transitional" size would be expensive.

It's almost time to register Henry for Junior Kindergarten (Ontario has two years of public kindergarten), and we have to decide which of 3 schools to send him to. The issue parents around here obsess about is whether or not your kid is going to do French Immersion, and if they are, when in their schooling they're going to start ( Early French immersion starts in Senior Kindergarten). We've pretty much decided we're NOT going to do it. This puts us against the grain of most other yuppie parents here, but I have some big concerns with immersion. First, my rotten French skills mean I would be effectively cut out of Henry's school experience if he was in immersion. Second, I'm just not convinced that learning a second language should be the focus of his early school years. I mean, it's not like I don't want him to study French or some other foreign language, but all things considered, I'm more concerned about math and reading in English. Functional bilingualism is like a golden ticket in this town (since it's required to work for the government), but the fact that I've lived in many places where you can go months, if not years, without hearing anyone speak French (i.e. every other place I've ever lived) makes it hard for me to think that learning French should be the entire focus of my child's education. In a regular program they still do 20-40 minutes a day of French, and I think that's plenty for now.

ANYWAY, the issue's on my mind today because I was calling around to schools for info.

As for Dexter, he just cut his second tooth and continues to be an utterly adorable and fantastically mellow little baby.I expect him to be sitting up in the next few weeks. He's way into sucking on his toes and grasping objects to bring them up to his mouth. I could go on about how adorable he is, but I think I'll go play with him instead!