Life: Idiotropic

Kindergarten is a German word. Kinder means children and garten means garden, so a kindergarten is a place where children can grow. Here, kindergarten is not one year. It is three. Children ages three through five play together for those three years until primary school starts. They are all mixed together in one class and they are not taught like we would expect - no letters and numbers. The time is spent in play for social learning more than facts and figures. Since Arianna and Luci are at the International Preschool on base and it is run by German teachers, the girls are blessed with some very special cultural experiences that they would otherwise miss (plus they get the letters and numbers that we Americans expect).

Luci's class ended on Monday with her picnic, but Arianna had school through Wednesday. A couple weeks ago a German kindergarten class visited both Arianna and Luci's class for the entire day. On Tuesday Arianna's class met a little early at the school, then walked off base to the bus stop and took a German public bus into the town of Geilenkirchen to the kindergarten there. They spent the entire morning with that class. Arianna buddied up with a little girl who shared her cubby with Arianna and played with her. They did art and play time. They have several indoor play structures. During circle time they sung "head and shoulders, knees and toes." The playground was extensive - a lot of play equipment, tires, sand and water tables, soccer nets. It didn't seem to end. The kids had a great time. Arianna seemed to enjoy it, but was so tired that day, that I still haven't gotten many details from her. She does know who to ask "what's your name?" in German and to also tell what her name is, so she did say that she talked to some kids there and she really liked the girl that she played with although she couldn't remember her name. Arianna's teacher told me that next year they are going to visit that school every other month, so Luci will experience a lot more there and I'll be sure to go as a chaperone at least once.


Wednesday was Arianna's last day of school and graduation. The school day was normal, but then we were back at 5:45 with cap and gown. It started at 6 and lasted an hour. I would never had expected such a wonderful program. The teachers are treating the last year at their preschool as if it were the last year in a German kindergarten, so they have made it really special. The kids performed for 45 minutes, singing and moving around almost the entire time. In the beginning, they introduced themselves with the microphone and said "good day" in several languages. Then they sang the basic songs like the ABC's. After a few minutes, it really got going with big smiles, sunglasses, and dancing. We had so much fun and the kids did great. Arianna was all smiles and knew each and every bit of her part without any hesitation.

When it was over we all went outside for a BBQ. The kids played at the playground and the adults sat around visiting and eating. Arianna didn't want to eat. She was having too much fun on the swings. She and Nevan are best friends and she has said that she will marry Nevan when she grows up. The scary thing is that Nevan likes Arianna just as much and bugs his mom ALL THE TIME to play with her. He invited her over for a sleepover, but Kirk isn't ready for that. That's Nevan pushing Arianna on the swing in the photo... he's such a little gentleman and Arianna loves being the princess.

After a relaxed dinner, it was time for cake and the graduates each got to cut their own piece (with the help of their teacher). It was such a nice time. The kids were all so happy and the rest of us were very relaxed. It was nice to be able to talk to so many of the parents there. One of the boys in Arianna's class is Italian, so I talked a lot to his family. They are from Venice and offered to give us a tour anytime we came down. We'll definitely take them up on that!

Today there was no school for Arianna, but we dropped her off at the school at 5:30 tonight for a sleepover. It is a German tradition upon completion of kindergarten and before primary school begins to have a sleepover at the school. Arianna's teachers have been doing this for years. So... Arianna is gone tonight. It seems wierd. This is her first sleepover ever and it is with her entire school class (she and Nevan are sleeping in separate rooms). They played outside when they first got there and then they were going to have a pizza party, go on a late night walk with flashlights through the woods, watch a movie with popcorn, and tell stories until 11 or so. Luci really wanted to go too. She tried to give me her pajamas when I was packing Arianna's things. But, she'll be doing this all next year.

This evening on the way to the base to drop off Arianna, I heard her and Luci talking. Arianna asked Luci, "Luci, how many children will you have?" "Three," was the reply. Arianna said that she'd have five and that "I'll drive mom's car." Luci said, "no, I'm going to have ten children."

OK... Last, but certainly not least in today's family news:

Yesterday between picking up Arianna and attending the graduation, we attended the school award's assembly at Tiara's school. I didn't know if Tiara was getting an award, but we were hoping for another straight A quarter. Well... she did it. Tiara got straight A's yet another term - the only student in her class to get straight A's any quarter this year and she consistantly got them the entire year. Her teacher was really proud and said some very nice things about her. The principal made a point to get a picture with her too. Then... more awards were given out and Tiara got the Leadership award for her class too! She was embarrassed, but we are so proud of her. Her teacher described her as being a "quiet leader" and very organized and helpful. She's happy that school is out for a while now and she can sleep in and relax. We're planning some fun summer activities though to keep busy and I've told her that we'll work on her writing skills over the summer.


Not to leave out my youngest two...

Luci is almost four and reminds me of that almost daily. She is in the princess phase of her life where everything is princess. We asked her the other day what she wanted to be when she grew up and, without skipping a beat, she replied, "a princess." When it's time to get dressed in the morning, she insists on wearing "a princess dress that is pretty," and when it's time to go to bed at night, she wants to wear a different "princess dress that is pretty." Getting her dressed for the playground is a struggle. She loves tights and leotards and dresses and pretty shoes. The advantage to all this is that for the first time in her life, she is cooperating during the hair fixing process... because, of course, a princess has to have pretty hair. So, hair clips are always on the shopping list. And, they have to be "pretty."

Elise is two in every way, but is learning quickly that temper tantrums will not work. So, she screams, kicks, looks around, and a few minutes later will acquiesce to whatever the situation is and say, "ok mommy." She is very sweet and amazingly articulate. I can't believe the sentences she's saying and she pronounces words more clearly than Luci. She's learning to pester her sisters, but plays well with them too most of the time. Outside she is obsessed with dirt which drives me crazy. Every time we go outside, she scoops up handfuls of soft sandy dirt from the garden and smears it all over her ball. Or, she'll carry it to another part of the garden and then transfer dirt all over the yard. She ends up completely brown - looking more like Schultz' Pigpen more than my baby. I do hope this is a short lived obsession. She just has to have her hands in things. My favorite coffee shop has a wonderful little patio outside with a fountain and goldfish. Elise loves it, so it's been a great place for me to relax because she's happy there. Now she's discovered some gravel around the trees and she tries to pelt those poor little fish with the rocks. There goes my peaceful bliss.

Anyway... that's about all the news here. Today was Tiara's final day of school, so summer is officially here and play time starts. We'll see what kind of trouble we can get into! :)