Life: Idiotropic

The entire month of January, Elise' class at the German Kindergarten did a unit on Hansel and Gretel singing songs, reading the story, doing crafts, and even learning and acting out the play. Since I usually make gingerbread houses each Christmas, I asked the teachers if they would like a gingerbread house this month - an offer they happily accepted.

So last night I baked gingerbread making all the pieces for a house and an entire forest of trees. This morning I made a large batch of frosting and sealed it up in decorator bottles. Then at 1030, I took all that with a bunch of colored sugar sprinkles and candies to the kindergarten so the kids could make the house.

Honestly, last night I couldn't find my recipe (ended up finding it on this blog!), and really had a bad attitude. I was tired and kicking myself for volunteering for yet another unnecessary project. But, I have always enjoyed and felt it was important to be involved with the girls' classes at school and though it's more challenging at this school, I still want to be involved. It's good for Elise and I'm aware of the impressions that I can make here as an American living among Germans.

By the time I got there, I'd mellowed and once I started working with the kids, I was so happy to be there. The class split into two groups, so I had half at a time. They decorated their trees, then worked together on the large sides and roof of the house, each small group of 2-3 kids "gluing" candies onto the large cookie piece. They asked a lot of questions and I understood and could reply to half. To the other half, I told them that I couldn't speak German, but, I was telling them that in German and they looked so confused, then just continued to talk to me as if I should understand everything perfectly. There was no grabbing or rude behaviour. They sat and worked, listened and watched. I think they were as intrigued with me as I was with them, but it was nice.

When all the children had a turn and the house and trees were done, I cleaned up and moved to a tiny table in the corner to assemble it all - a process that is slow as the frosting has to set between each heavy piece of candy covered house. I sat there working and at all times had at least 10 kids crowded tightly around me silently watching. Once in a while someone would say something. They all pointed out each piece of candy that fell off. And, they wanted the cookie Hexe (witch) that I made to go inside the house before I put the roof on, so I put her in carefully, then they all had to get up on their tiptoes and peer inside.

The next day, the little house with the forest around it was sitting on the small table in the entry as you enter the classroom with a little note saying that Frau Stahlbaum has made this house with all of the children. All the kids wanted to eat it, but Frau Gisbertz said that it was too beautiful to eat and they will get enough candy at Carnival. True. I'll have to make a small batch of cookies so they can at least have a taste of American gingerbread that is so different than t