School has shifted in final projects, and the kids are bringing all their new skills together for the last few weeks. They’re learning about ocean habitats in their science classes, pasta making in their Italian culture classes, and continuing with their Post-Impressionism studies in art. Vivi’s class made tagliatelle, so we cooked it at home with some butter and pepper – I didn’t know 2 year olds could make pasta dinner!

Both kids hosted a 1-on-2 student-led learning presentation, where they invited us to their classrooms and showed us the skills they’ve learned through the various Montessori activities. They were each scheduled for 15min, but the kids easily spent 30-45min sharing their favorite activities. The teachers stood back and had the kids lead us around – at first we weren’t sure if this was meant to be more of a parent-teacher conference, but it became clear that these were Vivi and Guille’s opportunities to share. It was endearing, and we’re very proud of all the new skills they’re practicing! We’re also proud of Guille for getting his first haircut at a real barbershop (he’s sitting on a skateboard), and we all went for an evening gelato.

On Saturday we went to Siena, a historic Tuscan town about 2 hours south of Florence. It’s known for horse racing, and the nearby town of Arezzo even hosts a jousting tournament in June and September. We didn’t see any horses this time, but we did walk into the set-up for the graduation ceremony for University of Siena’s 786th graduating class in the famous Piazza del Campo. It was HOT, so I hope all the chairs cooled down by the evening!

We then went to Duomo di Siena, the most important church in town. Surprisingly, they charged admission; this is our first church that you have to pay to step into. Unsurprisingly, the inside is full of incredible masterpieces and marble architecture with an Escher-esque quality. With the heat, we stopped by the train station mall to cool off and grab some snacks for the long train ride home ahead of us.

Guille’s favorite part of Siena: the mall arcade rides
Vivi’s favorite part of Siena: chasing pigeons in the Piazza del Campo