First week of school

The kids did really well during the first week of school.  It was pouring rain on the first day, but then pretty nice the rest of the week.  Don't the kids look smart in their uniforms?

Michael adapted quickly and was very happy at school the first week.  Anna had a hard time at drop off the first couple days, but Anna's teacher held her hand and took her into the classroom.  I was really thankful for that.  John and I were also very pleasantly surprised at how friendly the parents are at drop off and pick up.  At the cloak room, we met a couple girls and their mums, who helped us figure out the coat peg/shelf system.  As we came out of the school, we immediately met some very nice parents and chatted with them for quite a long time at the school gate.

It's quite a nice walk down the village road (literally called Village Rd) past the village shops and the butchers who always wave, then turn right at the pub and head up the hill to the school (literally called School Hill).  In England, houses and streets are often appropriately named, which is helpful for the lost.

Michael was assigned a "house" like in Harry Potter, and is excited that they'll be learning about World War II.  They group the kids according to ability, which helps a lot, especially coming from abroad.  It seems evident that kids are pushed pretty hard here early on academically because of the 11+ exams in a couple years that determine which middle school kids get into.  His reading is on par, but he will probably be in a lower-level math group (thank goodness) as some of the kids are already doing 7x tables in his class.  Amazingly, Michael's only complaint so far is that the playground is "boring" because his usual friends aren't there to play imaginary games.

Anna has had some ups and downs but has done amazingly well when you consider that she's in big kid school for the first time and in a foreign country.  She had a few worries ranging from opening items in her lunch box to when she is allowed to use the bathroom and her teacher's/school's generally more strict standards.  Her class is also supposed to cover a lot of spelling, reading and math this year!  Amazing to think that this year (kindergarten) is not required in Pennsylvania.