Funny moments: realizing I'd typed "wenn" when I meant to type "when". Saying "water or milch?" to the kids.
Many thanks to my German friends who tell me I don't sound like an American (until I make ridiculous grammatical mistakes, I'm sure)! :) Makes me more confident to just roll with whatever comes out of my mouth.
First day of Kindergarten quote:
Me: "G, are you ready to go?"
GE: "NO!"
Took GE to the KG around 8:30 yesterday morning. She was shown where her hook and cubbies are to store her rain gear, houseshoes, jackets, etc. Then we went back to the Raupengruppe (Caterpillar group) room. She settled herself with some toys and I sat in a corner with my Kindle to read. I basically tried to ignore her (the instructors and director never really told me how this was all supposed to proceed, but my neighbor, RP, had filled me in, so I knew what to do) and let her play. Occasionally I was obliged to eat some pretend food, but for the most part I was just a decoration to the room. After about 45 mins the teacher suggested I go sit in the lounge to read. 30 mins after that she came to tell me that GE was eating her "Frühstuck" with the other kids and that if I wanted to, I could go out shopping or whatever for a good hour. So I grabbed my stuff and biked over to Bad Godesberg--I had three different lists of food or items that I needed to pick up. What a luxury to shop without having to see where GE was hiding! I even had time to take it all home before I had to return to the KG. When I arrived, the kids were playing outside. She didn't notice me at first but then I got a happy greeting and a hug at which point I asked if she was ready to go home and got a vehement, "NO!" before she ran off again. So I stayed for another 45 mins and took some pictures. When the other groups were starting to clean up and come in for lunch, we packed up her things and headed home. ME and HR walked home from school together (Monday is the only day they are released at the same time so I don't have to be there to get HR).
That's GE to the left of the tree trunk. She was talking to one of the other kids when I arrived. Clearly not feeling the need to cling to any of the teachers, but right in the thick of things. :)
In the evening I attended the Elternabend (Parent meeting) for the 4a class. Fourth grade is a stressful year for German kids and families because it's when they have to decide what type of high school they'll continue on in. There are four different kinds from what I understand (German friends, please correct me!): Gymnasium (5th-12th grade with a huge series of exams, "Abitur", at the end and usually the choice for university bound students), Gesamptschule (5th-13th grades which covers many of the same material as the Gymnasium but at a slightly slower pace and more flexibility, also ends with an "Abitur"), Realschule and Hauptschule. Not sure how the last two function exactly but I think they are more for practical, vocational training. The families have to decide what type of school is best for their child, then which of the various schools they would like to apply to, fill out papers from the Schulamt (School department) and then visit the schools on their Open Door days, make appointments to meet with the school directors for interviews, and provide a detailed school report card and recommendation from their Grundschule teacher (most kids have had the same teacher since 1st grade)! There was a lot of angst in the room, to say the least...
I had the opportunity to introduce myself to the other parents at the end of the meeting and tell them that ME is enjoying being part of the class and thanks to all the kids for making her feel welcome, etc. Exchanged info with one of the moms so that we can plan an afterschool or Saturday playdate together.
The second day of Kindergarten was also smooth: dropped GE off about 8:30. She is already very proud of her ability to sit down on the benches, untie her own shoes (I taught her how to untie the double knots), change into her slippers, hang up her Frühstucksbeutel (Breakfast/snack bag), and go into her room. There were several kids at a table with the teachers using scissors to cut out something. GE sat right down, picked up a pair of scissors and looked around expectantly as if to say, "Ok, here I am! Give me something to do!" I kissed her, said I'd see her in a while and left! I didn't have to pick her up until noon so I rode over to my favorite Turkish market, picked up some fresh produce took it home, stopped by the neighbors to borrow a tool to adjust my bike seat, have a cup of tea, then head to the Edeka to get some other grocery items. I biked to a flower shop I'd seen on one of my runs and picked up a bouquet to take to MD for her birthday party this evening and then went home to enjoy another cup of tea, read some email and then head out at a leisurely pace to pick up GE! When I arrived she was playing happily outside with another little girl, wearing her rain pants (it had rained in the night and a.m. so the playground was wet--I guess they put the pants on to keep her clothes from getting wet from sitting in the wet sand). Tomorrow is a teacher continuing ed day, so we'll take the day off and go again on Thursday and Friday.
We all took the train to Königswinter to MD's house for her birthday celebration--potluck style. I brought some home-made hummus and veggies and some Kuchen from the bakery. There were some really amazing cakes and tortes! Visited with lots of MD's friends, had some bratwurst, etc. then came home. The kids made friends with another girl, the daughter of one of MD's friends, so she promised to share my email/phone with the mom so we can make plans to play again. I'm amazed at how much the kids are getting across with their limited vocabulary! The kids were really tired on the way home (too late for a school night!) and MK had left her bike at the U-bahn stop. Wasn't sure if her light functioned, so I fiddled with it a little, got it going, helped her turn on her helmet's flashing rear light (red) and off she went. Everyone went straight to bed! So should I...
I've been meaning to share links to the girls' schools and keep forgetting... Here they are, if you're interested!
The elementary (Grundschule) school:
http://www.bodelschwinghschule-bonn.de/start/start.html
The middle-high school:
http://www.ncg-bonn.eu/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
I think I posted the Kindergarten before, but here it is again:
http://www.kjf-ggmbh.de/index.php?id=1727#c3065
September 12
A quiet day. Didn't need a lot of groceries, but went with GE to an organic farm with market that is near here and that I'd been told about by several friends. I was under the impression that it was more of an open stand farmer's style market with just fresh produce but it turned out to be a proper little grocery store with cheese and bread counter, fresh produce and lots of organic food staples. I found the natural peanut butter brand that I had only seen in the downtown organic shops before and am nearly out of. Bonus: roaming chickens, a couple of little pigs, and HUGE bunnies in a little barn for the kids to feed. GE got a kick of that. :) We stopped off at a favorite playground before going to pick up HR from school.
Tomorrow GE has KG again. Let's hope it's as smooth as Monday and Tuesday!
September 13
Found KALE in the freezer section of one of the larger grocery stores. Now I can make my favorite black bean recipe with KALE. Yeah! Hope it tastes as good as the fresh stuff... Also saw bagged fresh brussel sprouts for the first time and roasted some for supper tonight. YUM!
GE had another great day at KG. It was raining hard so we took the bus and walked a bit this a.m. Still only took 15 mins. When I picked her up the teacher suggested she stay for lunch tomorrow. So I won't pick her up until 2:15 after their rest time. We'll see how that goes and then we can decide how to proceed next week.
Got some shopping done, finished some household things and then picked HR up from the elementary school before biking over (the rain had stopped) to pick up GE. HR came along on her bike. I love how much exercise the kids are getting. Will be hard to adapt to the country life of driving everywhere again when we return to Virginia.
Made two play dates: one for ME next week with a classmate Weds. after school and the other for HR with another 1st grader to play after school next Thursday. Will be busy, busy! Not sure how the timing will work out with picking GE up from KG. Will have to check on that...
September 14
MK came home and said she'd understood all the math during class! Yeah!
We enjoyed a lovely dinner out at La Vita http://www.ristorantelavita.de/index3.html with the brother of one of my parent's friends and his wife and daughter. The girls all hit it off and we had great conversation in both German and English. They have lived in Bonn a long time so shared some of their favorite winter/rainy day outings which I'm sure we'll be using soon! The food and atmosphere were great too.
As we came around the corner to our apartment, we saw some new friends in the Chinese restaurant (1st floor of our building), so we slipped in and sat and visited with them a bit too. Girls are finally settled into bed. Hope everyone sleeps in tomorrow!
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