A l'ecole

School!  Yes, school!!!  We are back in it, full swing and just finishing week three.  Or is it four.  Regardless, the Bender kids are back at it and so far, so good.  As a kid, a parent and a teacher who has seen a lot of elementary schools (I went to four of them myself, taught in my own classroom at two, subbed at many and have had kids at three now) I will say we've hit the jackpot of elementary school goodness here in Belgium.  A major perk of being stationed at a NATO base is the international aspect of education.  The kids now have a slew of friends from countries they'd never even heard of before moving here.  Priceless.  The American school opened that up for them as the student population is 40 percent international.  This year however, we've hopped across the border and are now getting schooled with the Canadians. Why the switch?  Well, number one is the language.  The Canadian school is bilingual.  We live in a French-speaking country so let's try and communicate with the locals (although they make loads of fun of that French Canadian accent).  I'm a softy when it comes to my kids (sometimes) and prefer the bilingual approach to immersion, as much as I know immersion is the speedier way to learn.  Secondly, the size.  This school is tiny.   The school is grades 1-8 and there are 63 kids total.  Mostly Canadians (duh) and Americans along with one from Ireland and one from Spain (Sean and Nicolas, two of Matthew's favorite friends)  Love it!  The teachers are very warm and share my philosophy that you don't learn unless you are having at least a little bit of fun.  Lots of music and field trips along with swimming once a week and a zipline on the playgroundl.  Good stuff. 

Can I have a bigger bow please?

 Kate somehow, someway, scored one of four spots in grade one.  Yep, there are four kids in her class, all girls.  I want to teach that class!  The Canadians teach language arts based on the primary language of the majority of the Canadian students.  Well, in grade one that would be French.  So not only is Kate one of four kids, but she is learning to read and write all in French.  Two hours a day of this instruction, with the rest of the day bilingual.  She also gets an hour a day of English, so is building on what she already has in reading and writing there.  I don't think there is an opportunity like this anywhere outside of some homeschool kind of thing or a very expensive private school.  (Did I mention the cost of this wonderful educational opportunity?  Free.)  She is really happy, loves her teacher and the other three girls, although I wonder how long until these girls start acting more like sisters.  Yikes! 

Sam.  Nervous boy on first day

 Sam is in grade two, and yes I'm going Canadian by not saying second grade.  He and Kate are in the same room as it's a 1/2 combo, but spend the morning apart.  There are ten second graders, and the Canadians' first language is English.  So while Kate and her amies are learning French, Sam and crew are getting two hours of English.  Flip flop and he gets an hour of French.  This is good for him as he's a pretty strong reader in English and the thought of not doing something well freaks him out, so the pressure to learn all in French right now isn't there.  Strangely though out of our three, he comes home speaking French more than the other two put together.  Sam has made some good friends already and thankfully had a little buddy going into school.  Last year was so rough on this kid, moving away from his Washington friends and home really rocked his world.  We are happy to have him comfortable and adjusting well to life here now, but what a long road that was. 

Big kid MTB

 Matthew was all set to start the Belgian school this year.  We were told there was no room in the 3/4 class at the Canadian school from the get go, and repeatedly told so whenever I'd casually inquire in the weeks leading up to the first day.  He was cool with doing the Belgian, mainly because two of his best friends would be there and he could write with a fancy ink pen.  Lo and behold, just a few days before school started, while at the Munich zoo I got a call from the Canadian school offering him a spot.  I hadn't realized how much I wanted this for him until that call came and I broke into tears right there in front of the African deer things.  He was ok with the switch, but I know was a little sad about not being able to hang out with his buds on a daily basis.  That threesome may have led to trouble and they don't mess around at the Belgian school.  What convinced him that Canadian is good is the fact that the field trips are incredible, including overnights in Normandy and the European Space Center along with loads of others.  He's enjoying it though, he gets to move around to different teachers and has a few that he thinks are cool (male teachers, go figure).

A little unsure

So if we fake smile will you stop taking pictures?

About to go in

 The school isn't the prettiest, it's in a renovated apartment building from the 1960s.  The classrooms are apartment rooms (go figure) so have a kitchen and bathroom in each.  Up until last year they even had tubs.

Reuniting with a buddy from Camp Canuck

Most likely this post was really boring to you all, but it's good documentation for the future.  I really don't know how we'll go back to normal American public schools after this experience.  Honestly, this is so ideal and we'll enjoy it while we can.  Or maybe we'll just make our home up in the wilds of the Great White North eh.