De Kleine Reus

a few weeks ago our neighbor asked us if we would consider enrolling david in the local public (dutch) school. i had never seriously thought about school for him bc i heard getting into schools was very difficult and bc, well, we don't live here. but we inquired with the school administrator and they said it was no problem! he is now a Group 1 student at De Kleine Reus (The Little Giant) Basisschool. he is in a mixed class of groups 1&2 (4 and 5 year olds) and it is equivalent of 2 years of american style kindergarten. so starts the routine of setting an alarm every morning and starting our day early!

he has 2 teachers - Matilda and Mila. it is quite common for teachers
to work part-time so Matilda teaches MTW, and Mila, ThF. the school follows a developmental-oriented philosophy but i have not found much info about that other than they have a central theme that last several weeks in which they use to teach different concepts. the current theme is time and his class has brought in pictures of themselves as babies, talk about clocks and time capsules, and are going on a field trip to an old canal house to talk about history. they also have a weekly 'crea' in which all grades co-mingle and they talk about things like philosophy, biology, and yoga!

i love the morning routine - as we walk to school we see tons of parents and children on bicycles. as we turn corners the school traffic pics up and funnels closer to the school adding more and more students. by the time we get to the street where the school is located the street is thick with parents and kids - some walking, running, cycling, and scootering. i see parents with 3 and 4 kids loaded into and onto their bicycles. then all the parents escort their kids into their classroom and sit with them for a few minutes before the teacher claps her hands and starts the day.

the afternoon routine is a bit different - parents are not allowed in school (probably bc of the mayhem - in the morning they have a 15 minutes window in which the school is open for drop-off). all the parents wait outside and each teacher brings her class down and, one by one, sends the children off to their parent. it is hectic and crazy but fun at the same time.

david has befriended pascal, another english speaking boy. getting any information on what happens during the day is like pulling teeth but i know he is having fun. he did half days his first week and when i picked him up at recess time it was absolute chaos - 3 or 4 classes squeezed into a teeny tiny playground. it is a jumble of running, screaming, playing, climbing, and scootering kids all burning off energy.

hopefully he will pick up a little dutch during his 5 week stint at school. but he is busy and having fun and that's all that really matters. now all i need to do is find a place for naomi and i can become a real woman of leisure!

here is a little video for you all, showing our journey to school on the first day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI4rdG3IxkU