First Day of School

Here are the kids right after we picked them up from school - happy! gleeful! wound up! and it wasn't just the pastries we'd bought to celebrate THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!! It was probably the longest day that Mac and I have ever sat through - and we pretty much just sat through it, wondering every minute what was going on. We all went together at 8:30 a.m. and the very nice Directrice told us where the kids were placed and who their teachers were going to be, and then it was just a matter of walking them to their classrooms and saying goodbye. All three kids were absolutely amazing, giving us a hug and walking into classrooms full of busy, happy French kids. The classrooms are nice and open and clearly have tons of activities going on. Lots of imaginative play for the kids to plug into. We thought there would be tons of forms to fill out, some kind of bureaucratic something, tests, something - but no, just come on in and join the flow. There was only one set of forms to fill out and (this I love), it had to do with lunch. The kids are staying for lunch at the Restaurant Scolaire (can I translate this as Scholarly Restaurant? it's got a nice ring to it) and that whole service is taken very seriously. There are meticulous explanations of the food (all fresh, all made for just the number of students registered), and detailed instructions for payment - I just love that there is this careful attention to setting up the structure for lunch. It's 2 euros and 21 cents per meal, and if one misses 4 meals (or a week's worth), one gets reimbursed. We paused over that number 4 for a second and then moved on (it will come back to be significant). Mac and I wandered around somewhat aimlessly and tried to open a bank account (bank closed on Monday) - we then had a coffee and tried to read Le Monde (as in-depth and difficult as ever about politics, although the culture section remains spectacular to read through) - and then came home and oh, look, it was time for lunch. We were totally restless, and I kept wondering if the kids were nervous or scared, or what on earth it was like to be in a French school for the first time. I remembered my first days in the States, of course, and the whirl of confusion, but also the fascination. What would it be like for them? We set up our study upstairs and counted the hours: now they were in school, now they were in their lunch + 2 hour break (amazing!), now back in school. And then, whew!, time to go get them. We were 15 minutes early but the doors don't open until 4:30 p.m. precisely. I think that like so many things in France, there is a mutual respect across boundaries: parents don't wander around the school (I wonder if there's even a PTA); they let the teachers do their work. And the teachers let the parents parent. Well, 4:30 p.m. came and we started looking for Oliver as a bunch of kids his age were coming and there was our little guy! and he jumped in our arms and was just so happy, so up! It was such a glorious feeling. Right away he said "Well, I know what my favorite subject is." And, eagerly, we say "What, sweetheart?" and he replies: "English!" Ha ha! Indeed, they have a period for English - and math and, we couldn't get much else on that front today. We asked about lunch and the description was delicious: some kind of ham and cheese crisped together (croque monsieur?) and potatoes and green beans and a choice of clementine or yogurt - and the food is brought out to them, it's not cafeteria style! Then we went to the next building over to get the girls - Iris was in a circle seated close to another little girl, and the teacher told us that she'd had a bit of a down moment when people were moving to and fro and changing activities, but that after that, a little girl had taken her under her wing and that Iris had been part of a bunch of little girls for the rest of the afternoon, playing/learning happily. Eleanor's teacher said that it was a great day for Eleanor, no problems at all, just blended right in. Eleanor herself said that she cried after she saw Oliver at lunch and they had to be separated again (for her to go to nap, I believe). Oliver said that he comforted her and that she was ok. We didn't get to speak to Oliver's teacher, but a whole slew of little boys who were staying for the after-school program called out to him and it just blew my mind to hear them saying "Olivier! eh, Olivier!" and waving at him - he was introduced in front of the class at the beginning and got to talk about Indiana, and then he said many of the boys were crowded around him at recess - they seem sweet, mischievous, like a friend of mine said little French boys are. I do believe that Oliver is going to have a great time. Iris cracked us up: as soon as we were in the car she said, "That was the best first day of school ever!" and we rejoiced and were glad. And then she goes "I find that it helps if you just say 'oui,' 'oui,' 'oui' to everything." Didn't David Sedaris have a similar insight? (something about saying "d'accord" to everything). When we asked Eleanor what her favorite part was, she said "the green silk couch." Mmmmmm, wonder what that is! But we know she sang songs and played and had a great time. Can you believe they're in there from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.? with this 2-hour break for lunch and play from 11:30-1:30 p.m., granted. Oh but wait: so we're standing around waiting to get in, and I strike up a conversation with another parent and then it suddenly crosses my mind to ask: so is it a 4-day school week? "Mais, bien sûr." It turns out that THERE IS NO SCHOOL ON WEDNESDAY! This is what it was like when I was a kid in Switzerland. I just can't believe it's still done that way. They've done away with Saturday morning school, so now (and this really does change the landscape of our sabbatical), the kids will go to school Monday and Tuesday, we'll get a family day on Wednesday, they'll go Thursday and Friday, and then we'll have our glorious week-ends. The pace just seems so much more humane. I remember Oliver struggling to go from 0 to 60 in transitioning from pre-K to all-day Kindergarten. There is much to think on here in terms of pedagogy and how our two cultures think children think and learn. I can tell you one thing: if anyone is thinking of sending their children to a French school, Brittany is definitely the place to be: they are so used to English-speaking children here because so many British folks have come down to stay. It's ideal in that there are English-speaking teachers and just an ease with having English-speaking kids around: full confidence that they will transition into French no problem. The kids are picking up on that confidence, I think. Tonight, as I was trying to remember a detail from last night's adventure of Baby Pink Dragon and Her Friend the Little Girl (which I tell the girls a "chapter" of every night while Oliver reads Calvin and Hobbes), Iris came up with it and I thanked her. "No, no, Mom," she said, "It's merci beaucoup." And so it has begun - we will see what tomorrow brings; then we'll recoup Wednesday; then see what Thursday and Friday bring. Amazing.