First Days of School

After a week to settle in, now it was time to start school.  The girls are definitely not excited about this.  At home, they love school, but the thought of starting a new school, in a different country, and without knowing the language.  Let's just say freaked out is probably not adequate to describe how they're feeling.  Marc and I got to “enjoy” the stress of this with lots of melt-downs and tantrums in the days leading up to the first day.

A couple of days before their first day, Marc and I  and the girls met with the principal ("Directrice") of the school, who also happened to be Teah’s teacher.  We met Lola's teacher too and got to take a peek at their class rooms, which were going to be right next door to each other.  Although the girls got somewhat excited about the novelty of having a desk (they don't have desks at their school in California), overall they didn't say much and honestly looked rather depressed.  Although Teah would normally have been in Kindergarten in the U.S., based on her age they decided to put her in the 1^st grade class, CP.  We were a little concerned about this but the teacher felt it would be important for her to be with her peers.  Lola was going to be placed in a mixed 1^st and 2^nd grade class, CP & CE1. This would hopefully be perfect for her as it would allow her to be with her peers but also allow more wiggle room academically as she’ll be initially focused on just learning the language. (Interesting note the French school system actually counts down to their "Senior" Year, so 1st grade would be equivalent to their Junior Year in High School and 0 Grade or what they call "Terminal" would be their Senior Year).  

In accordance with our experience preparing for our Visas there was literally a mountain of paperwork for us to fill out (versus the one-page form we had to fill out before our kids started school in California).  At one point it became rather humorous when we were given yet another form to fill out, which really just seemed like the same information we had already provided but in a slightly different format. It also quickly became clear that we couldn't just "show" up for the first day of school.  We needed new phone numbers, a local bank account, additional insurance (“school insurance” - in case they require medical attention at school), and a laundry list of school supplies.  

The School Loot 

Buying the school supplies actually lifted the girls spirits a bit.

Day 1 (Sept 1st)

The morning of their first day I’m feeling more nervous than I think I was on their first day of Kindergarten and Pre-K.  The girls are totally nervous.  No happy first-day of school photos for us.  They wouldn’t even “pretend” so I could get a photo of them together. 

On our way to school in Tonton's car -- the whole family came for the 1st day send-off 

Walking on to the school grounds; meeting some new people.

Meeting some other new kids who had just recently moved here from Northern France. 

 Throughout all of France, due to Security reasons, parents are not allowed in the classroom or for that matter even on school grounds.  The school is surrounded by a fence and the parents wait on the outside of the fence.  This is very different from our school back home where we’re actually co-oping in the classrooms with our kids each week and there’s a total open door policy.  For the first day, however, we were allowed to walk them on to the school grounds and watch as they walked (in a line) with their class to their classrooms.  Everything feels so much more regimented here.

Lola bravely got into her line; or at least on the outskirts of her line.

Teah was not about to let go of her Papa's hand.  He was allowed to walk her to the door of her classroom where her teacher scooped up her hand and off they went inside.

We picked them up for lunch that first day.  The children get a 2-hour lunch break (11:30-1:30) and many children go home for lunch.  We went to Mamie and Papi's (Grandma and Grandpa's) house for lunch and some play time before heading back for the afternoon.  I was honestly surprised that they were even willing to go back but they did without much fuss actually.  We picked them up at the end of the school day and they were exhausted but not too stressed.

Day 2

Friday drop-off was much easier.  Lola even allowed a morning photo; no Teah though yet.

We had to stay at the fence but they gave us kisses, held each other's hands, and walked on to the school grounds by themselves.  Today they would stay for lunch and have to go all the way until 4:30.  Teah was in full melt-down mode by the time we picked them up.  She had enough of French school and declared that she never wanted to go back.  We managed to end the evening on a happier note with treats, swimming, trampoline, and a movie before dinner.

Unfortunately the week-end was brutal.  Teah was "processing" all week-end with melt-down intensities I've never seen before.  At one point we had gone out on the lake and the girls had gone knee-boarding.

However when Teah's turn was up she was so angry that she literally started swimming away from the boat towards Switzerland!  We had to jump in the water and drag her onto the boat kicking and screaming.  For those of you familiar with "Hand-in-Hand" parenting techniques, our skills are definitely being stretched to their limits.  This is the not-so-fun reality of moving to France and trying to help your children adapt to a whole new life.

Day 3

Monday morning still no love for the camera.  I am determined though to keep at it until I get a morning when they are both willing to give me the Facebook worthy first day of school photo.  We'll see what day that will actually be.  They were however willing to pose for an after school shot.

The next couple days started to get better.  The girls are making some friends, a couple of English speaking girls (one from Russia and one from Gibraltar), and a French girl in Lola's class who she plays with at recess and braids her hair.  Overall the children seem to be kind and willing to help the girls work on their French.  By Day 5 Lola came home and on her own decided she wanted to practice her cursive since the other children in her class already seem to know this and she was proudly able to recite to me in French the days of the week and the colors of the rainbow.  I know it will only be a matter of time for the girls to adapt to their new school and start to feel more comfortable.  Of course once they understand the language better and can really start to connect with the other children this will be a huge help.  In the meantime, Marc and I try to remain patient with their outbursts and melt-downs and hope that in the long-run the trauma will be short lived.