Week 5 part 2

August 25

Finding it hard to think of what to write after the hoopla of beginning school! I'm still picking up bits and pieces of supplies that the kids need--the teachers want them to get "Einbands" or something like that for their textbooks. There are a couple different styles and sizes so I'm a little at a loss about what to get. One of ME's assignments on Monday is to look at what the other kids have and report back to me so I know what I'm supposed to be looking for! I'm also supposed to get her a recorder, but don't know what kind or where to get it. Must remember to write a note to her teacher about that...

Was up early this a.m. to hit the grocery stores/markets before the morning got away. I'm getting used to shopping often, although I still have to make myself stick carefully to my list (just what's needed for that day and the next day's breakfast) or I tend to end up with too much stuff in my tiny little fridge. I also have to remember on the weekends to stock up a bit on Saturday for Sunday when all the stores are closed! Last weekend we ran out of bread because I forgot to get extra on Saturday. :)

When I was done, the girls and I took our bikes to Bad Godesberg, Joshua took the train and met us in the pedestrian shopping zone. Picked up some of those aforementioned school supplies, plus some rain gear for MK and GE--for MK because she'll be biking to and from school sometimes in the rain and for GE who'll be walking/riding in the rain to and from places with me. Yesterday afternoon I finally got a call back from the Haus der Familie, the Lutheran church's family programs organization. They offer many different programs for parents and children, preschoolers and up. They have a one or 2 days a week practice "kindergarten" called a Maxigruppe. I filled out the online registration earlier this week and then left a couple of voicemail messages. There is one spot left in the Monday morning group (9-12) which starts this week. So, tomorrow afternoon GE and I will take a bike ride to the building to see how long it takes and then Monday a.m. we'll head there to try it out. If we like it and want the spot, we just have to call back and arrange payment. I'll stay with her at first but eventually she should be able to stay with the group for the whole morning. I have to meet HR after 1st grade lets out at 12:30, so as long as we can make the bike ride in under 30 mins, I think we'll do it.  The program lasts 12 weeks, then we can hopefully get a spot in the 2 days/week Maxigruppe or maybe by then she'll have a Kindergarten spot somewhere.

HR and ME both went to the church Kinderchor in the Friday afternoon. HR was a little reserved at first but by the end was making the motions and trying to sing along. ME stayed for the older group and was thrilled when they sang an English round which she knew already so she helped to lead one section while the choir director sang with the other. All the girls wanted to be in ME's group to sing the round! 

August 26

We attended the Pauluskirche (Evangelische) again this morning for Gottesdienst. It was their "Back Home" celebration--celebrating everyone's return from vacation and the beginning of the new school year. There were many more families and a Bratwurst and Biergarten for lunch in the courtyard afterwards (and yes, there was beer for sale! Local Kölsh brew.) We were able to make some connections with some families we had seen around but had no context with which to introduce ourselves. One was with a family with four girls! The oldest is HR's 3rd grade "Partin". The Grundschule pairs each of the new 1st graders with a 3rd grader who helps them navigate the school ground, find the bathroom, look out for them at recess, and make sure they get to the parent pick up location at the end of the day. The twins in the middle are in 1st grade too but in a different class. All three are in the Kinderchor with HR. The youngest daughter is the same age as Grace. They live near us (in the new houses next to the Aldi where I grocery shop) and invited us to come play Weds. afternoon after school. Another mother joined the adult choir this past week and this morning I was able to introduce myself and found out that her son's Kindergarten has an opening that might be available. She took my information and will tell the school tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

After church we took the bus to Bad Godesberg (it was raining so we decided not to take the bikes) to check out the Troedlmarkt. We found a few good book deals and picked up some used PlayMobil, then when the rain picked up decided to head home.

At home MK dug back into her Deutsch homework. Quite the accomplishment. She had an essay/report that she was supposed to do editing exercises on: reorganize the paragraph order, decide if info was important enough to keep in or not, correct punctuation, choose a better verb, consolidate redundant sentences, etc. J set her on a task to first highlight the words she already knows, then to figuring out what the other words mean and then to begin thinking about the editing questions. There were some tears, but in the end she finished it and was even forming simple sentences on her own. Way to go MK! We knew the first assignments would be the hardest and the scariest but that they would set the precedent for future homework. Math homework was easier, but still took some sorting out. The funny part was that she finished the whole math worksheet (on fractions) and then when she showed me what she had copied down from the teacher, I pointed out that H.A. means "Hausaufgabe" (homework). "H.A." was followed by just a few specific problems she was supposed to complete (for ex. 1c, f, g and 2 d, e), not the whole worksheet! She laughed and said, well now I know what "H.A." means! :)

August 27

Took GE to the Maxigruppe in Bad Godesberg (the practice "Kindergarten). The other children were all 2 year olds. During the course of the morning, the subject of Kindergarten openings came up and the teacher mentioned that Grace was part of the Maxigruppe because we hadn't been able to find a KG in our neighborhood with an opening. Another mother immediately said, "My son's school has 3 openings!" It's a Waldorfkindergarten not far from where the Maxigruppe meets. So, I called and made an appointment to visit tomorrow afternoon with Grace. We'll see... I can't tell from the website what the tuition is and there was one not-so-glowing review on an independent website. Kind of have to wonder why there are openings there when everywhere else seems to be full! At least this has pushed my buttons a bit: just spent an hour digging through the Bonn Kigan (city Kindergarten registration system--terribly convoluted and not user friendly at all) website again with a wider search radius now that I know how far places take by bike. I also have a better sense of what locations are easier to reach by bus--for example, bus lines seem to run either East-West or North-South. Anything on the east side of the U-bahn line is harder to get to by bus because I have to take one bus south, then switch and take one east. However, I can easily go a little further north or south on a bus line and not lose too much time. I have to keep in mind that wherever GE goes to Kindergarten, I have to be able to drop her off and pick her up in a timely manner while also sometimes being available to pick up HR from the Grundschule! It's a bit crazy. Most of the Kindergartens have several pick up times: 12:30, 1:30 or 2:30 or later if it's a full day program. The 12:30 kids get picked up before lunch, the 1:30 after lunch, and the 2:30 after the rest time. This is so that parents aren't coming in during the meal time or rest time and causing commotion. Makes sense. Funny to me that the days are longer than the Grundschule though! I'll end up picking my 1st grader up before I pick up my Kindergartener!
So, tomorrow I'll call my new list of Kindergartens to make sure there aren't any others that also have spots free.

August 28

Woohoo! Another KG has a spot. They are much closer.  A family is moving away and the spot will be open from Sept 1 on. Not sure if GE can start then because we have to wait for the contract to be processed through the city. But I'm dropping off the initial agreement and then will get a big package in the mail to read through, sign and return. It looks like it will be a great fit--location as well as philosophy, drop off and pick up times, etc. I canceled the appointment with the Waldorf KG since that's so much further away.

Here's a link to photos from the KG.
http://www.kjf-ggmbh.de/index.php?id=1730

So, hopefully, in a few weeks, my days will flow a bit differently: send MK off to Gymnasium at 7:30, the middle girls off to the Bodelschwinghschule (BSS) at 7:45. Drop GE off at KG between 8-9 a.m. Do whatever I want (!!! what on earth is that?!!!) until 11:30/12:30. Then meet HR at the BSS at 11:30/12:30, go home for lunch, pick up GE from Kindergarten. ME and MK will bring themselves home sometime after 1 depending on the day of the week.

ME came home hopping up and down with excitement. She was voted the "Klassensprecherin" (girls' class representative) for her class. She explained that she would be the go-between when kids want to rearrange the desks or trade seats with someone else, or make any other requests to the teacher. There is a boy Klassensprecher for the boys and a girl Klassensprecherin (our ME!) for the girls. Since ME is still learning the language, she has a German "helper" until she can communicate better.