Ella's great school

With each day Ella spends there, we become more impressed with the French public school system. She had yet another great day today. First, she overcame the reluctance she had been feeling in the mornings (clinging, not wanting us to go), and walked happily into the classroom. A great start! The teacher right away noticed that she had done this and without making a big deal about it came over to help Ella get set up at the art table. In the course of the day, here are some things they did. They did a very cool art project (hard to describe, but it involved rolling paint onto a big piece of paper and then scratching off some of the paint and drawing in the scratched off areas). They watched a movie about elephants in the gym (they watched the movie in the gym, the elephants were outdoors) during one of the times usually allotted to the playground (it was raining). They had gym, where the teacher invents wonderful games involving balls or hula hoops (it's Ella's favorite part of every day). They heard several stories, sang many songs, and did some work to continue learning the names of all the other kids in the class. She also brought home her "Cahier de vie" for the first time. This is a sort of journal/communication tool that I think is such a good idea. It is a big notebook; each kids decorated their own. She will bring it home each Friday and we will send it back each Monday. The teacher will paste notices in it about the activities of the week, or the kids will draw pictures or eventually write journal entries about what they are doing in school (special projects, field trips, etc.). During the weekend we are supposed to find a time to sit down and look through it with Ella and then we can add something to it (a note about a special event during the weekend, a photo of something we did, a note dictated by the child about their feelings). During the week, the kids will have a chance to share their journal entries with the rest of the class if they want. In this way, the parents and the teachers stay in touch about what is going on in the child's life. And at the end of the year, you have a momento of the evolution of the child over the course of the year. I'm sure it will be one of our favorite momentos of our year in France.

Jonah had a great day too - the teachers said it was his happiest day there yet. And, here's a really nice perk about his school. If the child has an accident (which Jonah did today) they have a washing machine and dryer and they wash the wet clothes! Also, Jonah has been coveting Ella's Samantha doll, so today we bought him a doll of his own. He named her Sophie. She sings Frere Jacques and Alouette. He adores her and carries her everywhere.