School begins!

It has been a busy week with everyone starting school, as I am sure it is with all of our friends and family back home.  As much as we have enjoyed our summer, we were all really in need of getting back into a routine, and having some time apart (that goes for parents needing a break from kids, and kids needing a break from parents!).  I remember having the same feeling last August, so I believe that is something that just happens after a lot of togetherness :o)  Nonethless, it is not easy parting from each other! 

We pumped up the kids about going to school by having a 'Back to School' pool party on Sunday.  We made them all say 'We love school!' before they would get their fancy pool drinks (see photo).  Everyone cheered, 'We love school!'  When Tuesday morning came, Stephanie and Mathieu continued on with the excitement, but Claire decided that she really didn't love school and didn't want to go.  Mommy continued to try to pump her up, but she wasn't really very 'pumpable'.  We took back to school pictures outside the house, where even Marcus insisted on putting on Mathieu's backpack and having his turn.  He really wanted to go to school (see photo).  We were planning on walking to school, as we weren't sure how the drop off/parking situation would be, but when Marcus screamed half-way down the hill because he wanted to walk, we very quickly decided that walking with a screaming child was not an option (because believe me, he would scream all the way there).  We arrived at the school in plenty of time, and were joined by many excited kids and parents.  All 3 kids go to a school called Pierre Tesseire, which is down the hill from our house, and has a kindergarten side (petit, moyen, et grand maternelle), and a 'Primaire' side, (grades 1 - 5).  We decided to take Mathieu to his classroom first, where his teacher 'Sophie' was waiting for him.  I could tell he was very nervous, but he went in, gave me a 'grand bizou', and headed in like a real trooper.  Brought tears to my eyes.....but I held it together.  Next, we decided to deliver Stephanie.  All of her class plays outside until the bell goes at 8:30.  We found her teacher (Mme Luque),  and got her in line up with her class.  She looked at me with very scared, and worried eyes, and once again I had to hurry away before I lost it.  Still 2 kids left in hand (Marcus and Claire), we headed back to the kindergarten side of the school to deliver Claire to her class and teacher, Kristale.  Now this.....this was the trickiest.  As we got close to the door, we heard other children crying, some screaming, and parents trying to convince them that it was going to be a great day.  This didn't go well for Claire, as she started to say she was too scared to go.  I went in with her, as did most of the parents, and got her settled at the coloring table.  We chatted to a few other kids in her class, who looked equally as worried as Claire.  Well....not all.  There were 2 boys, Luc and Mathis......they were delivering play food to the children who were crying....telling them that they were 4 years old, and not to cry because school is fun.  Of course Claire didn't understand a word they were saying, but I really got a kick out of these 2 'big' boys.  As the parents started to leave, Claire told me that they actually weren't leaving, that they were just talking at the door.  Needless to say, I was the last one in the classroom, and told Claire that I thought I better go because all of the other mommies and daddies were gone.  She didn't like this one bit, but her teacher came and took her hand, said 'Donne maman in grand bizou', and Marcus and I were out of there before my waterworks began :o)  Soooooo tricky leaving your little ones.......even when we know it is good for them. 

Daryl's first day of school was also on Tuesday (see his photo too!).  His school is called EDHEC, and is a school right in Nice by the airport.  It is about an hour for him to get their on the public bus, which he catches down the hill from our house (everything is down the hill from our house, I guess).  He left the house at 7:20 a.m. Tuesday, to be ready for his introduction to school.....an exam at 9:00 a.m.  Absolutely ridiculous to start off that way, isn't it?!  There was a 'mandatory' welcome session at the same time as the 'mandatory' exam....go figure.  He decided that he better go to the exam.  So.....he arrives at the school in plenty of time, and gets to his exam room at 9:00 a.m., to see that the exam actually began at 8:30 a.m., and nobody told him.  Not good.  Not only that, they took his personal calculator from him, and gave him a french one at the door, for him to use for the exam.  Also not fun.  At this point, he chose to laugh, because......what else are you going to do!  He had 1 hour and a foreign french calculator to write an 1.5 hour exam.  Silly.  Later in the day, he also learned that he didn't really have a weekly schedule, but that he needed to consult the website every night to see what his classes would be for the next day.  Also, ridiculous! 

School pick-up after the kids' first day was lots of fun :o)  The majority of the talk on the car-ride home was about what happened at recess, and what happened at lunch, at the cantine.  As we knew that Mathieu and Claire would have recess together, and lunch at the cantine together, I thought it might be a good idea to tell Mathieu to look out for Claire at these times and see that she was doing okay.  He took this duty very seriously, and told me and Claire that he would take care of her.  Wonderful, I was so proud of him.  Well....I am still trying to figure out the story, but based on Claire's version and Mathieu's version, this is as far as I got with the 'tail-less lizard' story.  Mathieu says 'Mom, have you ever seen a lizard without a tail?'  I said, 'Oh dear, Mathieu, no, why?'     He said that some of the boys were throwing around a lizard they had found at recess, and when he picked it up by the tail, the body fell off.  Claire said the teacher was mad and came and threw the lizard over the fence.  Mathieu was impressed that the tail was still moving in his hand, after the body had fallen off.  So......I think that boys in France are very similar to boys in Canada, in that they have much different interests than the girls at recess.  I remember asking Stephanie when she was in kindergarten what the boys did for recess, and she said, 'They dig........for garbage I think'.  Moral of the story is that we really need to teach Mathieu to stay away from lizards/bugs at recess. Now, for the cantine.  Well, the cantine is basically a cafeteria at the school where the children eat.  Parents are required to pay for the meals ahead of time, and advise the teachers as to whether or not the kids will be eating at the cantine that day.  As the lunch hour goes from 11:30 to 1:30, Daryl and I thought at first that it may be a good idea to bring the kids home for lunch.  But, the more we learned about the cantine, we decide that for them to fully experience the school day as the french kids do, and to allow them to have the chance to spend more time making friends, speaking the language, and trying new foods, it would be good for them.  So, all 3 kids stay at school for lunch, and go to the cantine.  Meals at the cantine last for an hour, and are served in couses.  First they start off with salad and baguette, then the main course (hot), then cheese, then dessert.  All of the children are served the same meal, and sit at round tables with assigned seating everyday.   Mathieu said 'Mom, they just keep bringing more and more food!'.  I think out of all of the kids, Mathieu is the best eater and the most willing to try new foods.  At supper time he said he was still full from the cantine.  Stephanie, is the worst eater, and therefore, we are hoping will learn some better eating habits from eating at the cantine with friends, away from her parents.  Claire....well, she is probably a little more on the adventurous side, but still didn't eat much the first day.    If nothing else, the cantine experience gave the 3 of them something to talk about, as they all experienced the same thing :o)

So......it is now the afternoon of the second day of school for the kids, and the third day for Daryl.  Marcus is sleeping, and I am enjoying some quiet time before the excitement of picking up the kids at 4:30.  Hopefully Claire is a little happier than she was when I left (as the drop off for day 2 was much worse for Claire than day 1.  Maybe she was afraid she was going to see another 'tail-less' lizard, who knows). Hopefully Stephanie's quick lesson in cursive handwriting yesterday was enough to get her through the day (as the kids in France learn handwriting in kindergarten, and therefore the teacher writes in handwriting on the board, and expects the kids too also). Hopefully Mathieu stayed away from the lizards at recess, and hopefully Daryl wasn't late for any more exams.  And......hopefully the first couple of days of school for all of you guys went well too :o)