Happy Dance

I still habitually think of Douwe as starting kindie, even though they don't have kindie here. They have group one and two, which are the rough equivalent of prek and k in the same classroom.

Play school is optional and is generally 2 half days a week from about age 2 until your 4th birthday, whereupon they have a big party and pack you off to group one, whenever your birthday might be. It seems to me it must be a very abrupt transition, from 2 half days a week to 5 full days. However, I am told that this is handled by the fact that children are not required to go to school until they are 5. So in that in between year, parents can send them as often or as seldom as they like.

I was all set to send Daan to the play school associated with the Montessori, as he is already registered to start there in January when he turns 4. Then it occcurred to me (duh) that this meant a new school and new teachers and new kids for September to December, then another new school in January, which seems to me rather a lot of school change. So now I have 2 kids in 2 school in opposite directions in a car free kind of culture. So we bought one of those carts that hangs on the back of the bike, which the kids think is the coolest thing ever. I suppose I will get good legs out of it and become a truly Hot Mama for the first time in my life. But don't hold your breath.

Daan was overjoyed to go back to school, though he walked around with the eyes-as-big-as saucers thing for about five minutes, until his teacher noticed this and got out the toy cars and the racetrack carpet. The it was "so long mom, I'm busy, see you later". This is why he loves her, she knows just what to do and does it sort of unobtrusively. It is also one of the reasons I kept him there for the duration.

Daan is rather sad that Rowan and Max are not there, they turned 4 over the summer and went on to group one. He has asked me to invite Rowan in particular over to play. If I can find his mother, I suppose I will, I like Rowan, too. Rowan is a real boy, a bouncer, so this will require either an outdoor venue or putting up all the breakable objects.

ANd speaking of holding your breath, Douwe cleared the first day hurdle without clipping the fence. According to his teacher he pretty much did what all the other kids did, anyway, and she didn't have any problems. She has no idea she just witnessed a miracle.

However, here's the big news (which is very small news indeed, so I count on your indulgence of my momminess, lol). Douwe has been for an entire year highly resistant to drawing and writing. He made about 10 drawings the entire year last school year, despite much (really very much. quite a lot really) effort on the part of his teachers. He made tiny little marks on the paper and then tore them up.

This made no sense to me, as I have literally boxes of his drawings from school in the Ststes prior to the age of 4, and he has been able to write his name for nearly 2 years now. But there you are.

So yesterday his teacher said to me, "I thought you said he didn't like to draw?" and showed me the drawing he made. At drawing time, with the other kids apparently. Okay, it was not a Picasso; Sort of a Mondrian really, with red crossed lines on white paper. But then he came home and just before dinner got out the paints himself and sat down at the kitchen table and painted a picture of Oma. With a head and ears and hair and socks and shoes and the whole shebang. Then he made a picture of himself with "Douwe" written underneath. While I stood around and pretended this was a completely ordinary thing for him to do.

The picture of himself has a great big smile, which takes up two thirds of the paper and goes right off his face. So I'd say it is going well thus far.