The Back to School Report: French edition

At our front door, about to head off to school!

Yesterday marked the beginning of real life here this year: the boys had their first day at the local preschool (William) and elementary school (Josiah). Having the boys in school is the key to them learning to speak French this year—one of the chief reasons we're here. But...starting school is also the sole aspect of this year that has really given us significant cause for concern, especially for William. He struggled heavily with going to preschool a few hours a day even under the most wonderful and familiar of circumstances in Lancaster.

I'm beyond thankful to report that it all went incredibly well, both yesterday and again today! I have zero doubt about why, seeing as family members across two continents have been praying long and hard. (Thank you, all of you.)

So, what's it like? Well, with three master's degrees and a Ph.D. between us, Jesse and I know "school." Has that helped us navigate little children's education here? Ha! We wish! But it's been a good experience overall, and folks have genuinely been trying to help the bumbling Americans along. And with marathon Google Translate sessions each night to deal with the copious paperwork, information, and forms, we're gettin' there.  :)

The turret on the left houses the
tunnel passage.

The school day:
The school day is different from what we're accustomed to. Both boys are dropped off at 9 a.m. at their two schools. It's a bit tough that they have identical schedules...but the schools are 5 or 6 minutes' walk apart. (Driving would take just as long!) Apparently there's a little cut-through door that ordinarily puts the schools within 100 m of each other, but it's blocked off this year due to construction / renovations on the ancient building by that wall. Instead we get between the schools by way of a thousand-year old tunnel in an ancient turret from part of the town's original fortification wall. Apparently highlights of its history go something like: military tower defense --> important grain warehouse --> prison for salt smugglers -->; prison during the French Revolution --> children's foot passage.  :)

We pass by the St. Medard church on

our walk to school, dating from the 12th c.

In any event, I'll be wearing a groove in the sidewalks and narrow roads as I hoof it from home to the kids' schools four times per day this year. After the drop-off at 9 a.m., they're picked back up at noon for lunch, then dropped back off at 1:30 p.m., then picked up once again at 4:00 p.m., obviously requiring visits at both schools each time (that's 8 school stops per day!). On Wednesdays there's no afternoon session, though, so they're done at noon. And on Thursdays the day ends at 3:00 p.m., not 4:00. As the boys gain confidence, they may stay at school for lunch sometimes; school lunch is a proper four-course event (without a tater tot in sight!), so my always-hungry little men are definitely interested in checking it out eventually.  :)

The teachers:
William's teacher is a lovely woman, Madame Rouillard, although I regret that Jesse and I find it impossible to pronounce her name even close to properly (there's a blessed lot of throat action involved) so we have been avoiding uttering it at all costs. Josiah's teacher, Monsieur Caussin, also serves as director of the two schools and seems to be a nice man who's got a lot of experience teaching elementary kids. On Tuesdays he attends to director-ly things, so Josiah will have a sub that day each week (including the first day, yesterday!).

 

School supplies, ah school supplies:
We have been navigating the world of school supplies. Children primarily use pens, rarely pencils, and particular types of pens and colors of pens are required for different activities. Each child has to have a detailed list of items at their disposal at all times, a second set at home, and we've been warned to have more in reserve so that depleted items can be restored at a moment's notice! If Josiah were a year ahead, he'd be using fountain pens and cartridges for most of his everyday note-taking, not just ballpoints. Now, office supplies and stationery are one of my love languages, so part of me really digs all this. But I can't say that such ardor has been genetically shared with Josiah, who has a steep learning curve ahead of him. Neatness in writing is a virtue of the utmost importance here; one doesn't scribble things out, one doesn't write sloppily, one always uses cursive, one always writes in pen. Well, have you seen my child's first grade caveman pencil print? I regret to say that despite his excellence in mathematics, science, reading, etc., Josiah was automatically "demoted" before school even began when we visited the schools last week. The sole placement test? He had to write his name on the chalkboard. Yes, you could feel the suppressed gasp of horror by the two teachers in the room! Not that we were very dismayed by his demotion. Having him with a slightly younger cohort, doing easier and more active lessons, frankly is much better for him language-wise and attention-wise than sitting among rows of children listening to a language he doesn't understand and being expected to rapidly be taking down pages of notes per day in tidy, tiny cursive. At 7, he's not quite there yet.  :)


The schools:

The schools themselves have an older, more tired feel than the bright, peppy, sterilized places typical at home, but they're certainly adequately equipped and the staff seem great. One thing that cracks us up is that the little parking lot outside Josiah's school serves simultaneously as an overnight camping / motorhome location. Can you imagine this in the US? "Oh, you want to set up your pedophile-mobile here next to the kiddie drop-off area? Sure! We even have water and power for you!" Ha. Anyway, both boys like their playgrounds (Josiah's is primarily a soccer area and basketball court, William's has more climbing equipment), and both boys report that they're figuring out where things are and how things work. With that said, I think one of the most frustrating things for me is going to be wondering about what happens in school. Neither boy shares a lot, naturally, and here parents are basically forbidden from even getting close after the first day (at the elementary school especially). School is the teachers' domain; parents don't enter or ask about the methods, etc. The gate is locked, one can't really see over the walls...so we're waving Josiah off and whispering a prayer as his little body disappears each morning!

Morning #2 for Josiah. Parents stay at the bottom.
Kids go through the gate at top!