Open House!

On Friday the children's school held their annual open house. It was a really nice event that was held straight away in the morning. It is so much easier to have these events during the day because otherwise we all have to arrange drivers for the evening. Danny and I don't have a problem with this since we have two drivers, but many other people are unable to arrange it so they just don't come. Thankfully it was a great turnout because the kids love to show off their learning and what they will be learning during the school year! I had a few tears in my eyes as it sunk in that this would be our last open house at this school. We love our school, it is not the biggest international school, but in our eyes it has been the best school for our children!!

My goal during the morning is to try and spend at least 15 minutes with each child and then gather them all together and go to their specials classrooms! Since I start with El, this task is almost impossible - I thought I could talk, my sweet daughter can talk and talk and talk!! We were unable to get through her complete list of the things she wanted to show me, which I was sad about, but I had to rush to get to Eens. Third grade for El is going to be tough with lots of homework. I was pleased to learn that they do try and incorporate Everyday Math into the math curriculum, which could help her when we move back to the states since that is a very popular math program. They also use Scholastic spelling books this year, which again may help her transition next year! Her teacher seems to be extremely organized and excited to teach the kids! Teachers are definitely one of the aspects that make our school so great - we have a mix of extremely experienced teachers who have been at our school for years and then we have the new teachers. Many of the new teachers are just beginning their international teaching experiences, so they have tons of enthusiasm and great ideas to bring into the classroom!

Eens was anxiously awaiting my arrival and almost immediately upon seeing me, he went into his complete goofy mode. I'm sure people must think I have no control over that child at school. When he sees me he goes absolutely bananas!! When he finally calmed down enough, he was able to show me around his classroom. It is fun to sort of know what to expect in first grade because Ellie has already completed it here! Eensie loves to read and shows such expression when he reads his books to me. That is quite unusual for a boy his age, so I will enjoy every minute. His favorite pastime in school is dress up. He loves the wizard cape and had to try it on just for me!!

According to Eens, popcorn man from last year is old news!! I hope maybe I get one popcorn man story out of him!

I finally made it to Coop with minutes to spare! He explained that since he had given me the playground tour the week before that we could do that quickly!! He was very proud of his seat on the carpet and his special chair. After meeting with his teacher last week we determined that it would be best for Coop to sit in the front of the class where he can always see her face. His teacher appears to be a pro. She has made Coop feel so comfortable that we haven't had one day with tears! This is a huge improvement over last year when he cried almost daily!!

We are so proud of our globe-trotting children!! I think it's going to be a great year!