Last Saturday of School

The children had their last Saturday morning at school last week. When school resumes in September there will be no more school on Saturday mornings.
On Saturday Bonnie had school as usual, but with sport (learning rugby), while Odette had a singing concert for parents and Sophie's class put on a little performance and display about their vélo citoyen project.

The children at l'école maternelle at La Flachere, performing for parents

Happy memories: the parents' view of the performance

All the kids in the three classes at Odette's school (3 1/2 to 6 1/2 year-olds) sang some little songs sitting on benches (tall ones at the back standing) in their gym room. Odette was sitting in the second row so I could hardly see her, and neither could I hear her very well - I'm sure she wasn't singing as loudly as she has been singing at home!

Odette, sitting in the second row

After the singing the children each had a long-stemmed rose to present to their teacher. That was a great idea as each child got to present a flower, and the teachers ended up with a big bunch. Then everyone filed outside for a drink and some lovely looking (didn't try one!) chocolate treats.

I wanted her to pose for me, but Odette's friends dragged her off to play!

Deux Chateaux

One of the four towers at the Château de bon repos

Sophie's class outside the château

During the week Sophie's class went on an excursion to visit two chateaux near Grenoble. I was one of the few parents who went along to accompany the class, and my job was to translate for Sophie. I hope she learnt a little bit... It was certainly interesting for me!
The first château, le château du bon repos, was in ruins but undergoing restoration. The second, the château de sassenage, was lived in by family members until the 1970s when it was bequeathed to the Fondation Française. It now hosts functions (conferences, wedding receptions etc) to pay for its upkeep.

Sophie in front of the Château de Sassenage

Sophie (who wears glasses full time now)

The most interesting thing for me at the first chateau was the refrigerator. This is in the 1600's and there was a fridge in the kitchen! Not exactly a fridge as we have in our kitchen today, but it did the same job. Being close to the mountains there was a supply of ice and snow not far away, so ice would be hauled back to the chateau to fill a very well insulated section of the cellar which was reminiscent of a well. This was directly below the kitchen, where a series of ropes and pulleys allowed perishable foods to be suspended in the "fridge" and hauled out when needed.
At sassenage Sophie was fascinated by the "clyster stool". This little piece of furniture was used for cleansing the colon by administering an enema. I have found a picture on the internet which I have posted here because I didn't know how I would describe it. The user sits astride the stool and uses the syringe to pump water (or a solution), well, um... up his backside!

Le Lapin de Pâques (Easter Bunny)

The Easter Bunny came to Odette's school yesterday. When I rang up to say that she was sick and would not be coming to school the teacher said that it was a pity because they had a special surprise in the morning. I had to go to the school to visit the "cantine" office so I made sure that I went at 9:30 and took Odette with me.

Le lapin, and the special Easter duck (Odette assures me it is a duck) that the children made at l'ecole maternelle (pre-primary)

The kids sang some little songs with actions, but of course Odette didn't know them. There was a big basket of eggs that came with the rabbit and when the teachers ran away with the basket and said they were going to eat them all there were loud protests from the children.
The rabbit was very well behaved and all the children got to pat him, though Odette was a bit scared to touch it at first. When she did touch it she said that it was very soft. At the end the teacher asked Odette how we say "Merci" in English, only she asked in French so Odette didn't know that she was meant to say "Thank You" to the rabbit for the visit.
At the cantine office I booked all three girls in to eat at school on Mondays and Thursdays. Monday will be a holiday for Easter so they will have their first school "cantine" meal next Thursday. Each meal costs 4.20 euros. Roger is hoping it will make them appreciate his cooking!! I am hoping that spending more time with other children instead of coming home every lunchtime will help them learn to speak French more quickly.
And we both hope that they will eat the food (we have at least one fussy eater at home) and have good manners in the cantine!

Having the kids eat at school two days a week will give Roger a break - he has been managing the kitchen since we have been in France, as well as driving the girls to and from school. It appears the work is quite tiring because this is a picture of him asleep on the sofa before the girls went back to school yesterday lunch time.

School times

Now that all three girls are going to school we are battling to juggle their comings and goings.
Their schools all have different times for arriving and leaving and the timetable looks a bit like this:

8:30 Bonnie starts school
8:35 Sophie starts school
8:50 Odette starts school
11:45 Odette comes home for lunch
11:45 Bonnie comes home for lunch
11:50 Sophie comes home for lunch
13:05 Odette returns to school
13:45 Bonnie returns to school
13:50 Sophie returns to school
16:10 Odette finishes school
16:30 Bonnie finishes school
16:35 Sophie finishes school

But now Odette can go to school in the morning and come home again in the afternoon on the bus, so we only have to drive to her school at lunch times. BUT it means we have to remember the bus times which are 8:40 and 16:17. Bonnie will be able to take the bus when she has approval, and that will make it easier too. But Odette's lunch break is fairly short, and doesn't give much time to get home, have lunch and return to school. So she will eat at the school "cantine" as soon as we can arrange it. Then to be fair we will probably have the other girls eat at the cantine too, at least a couple of days each week.

On Wednesdays there is no school, but on Saturdays there is school in the morning. But the Saturday mornings have different times from the weekday mornings so we have to remember another set of times:

SATURDAY
8:30 Bonnie starts school
8:35 Sophie starts school
9:00 Odette starts school
11:30 Bonnie finishes school
11:35 Sophie finishes school
12:00 Odette finishes school

























Odette at L'Ecole Maternelle at La Flachere on Saturday morning

3 girls, 3 schools

Today Sophie had her first day at school. She was very keen to go, and said she had a good day; tonight she said she was very happy. Her school is just below the house, so when the kids are playing outside we can see her from our balcony. She came home for lunch - 2 hours from 11.50am until 1.50pm. The children in her class were excited that she was there - they have been waiting for her arrival. When I walked her down and we met the teacher there was a row of girls standing quite near, all of them looking and seemingly fascinated by Sophie speaking in English to me. She held my hand quite tightly and I had to remind her to smile, so I guess she was a little nervous. They soon asked if she wanted to play, and that was it. There are 17 girls in her class, which is a nice change from the mainly male dominated class at home. But Sophie assures me that even though there are not a lot of boys they are far more annoying than the boys at home!

After picking Sophie up when school finished at 4:35 we drove up the road to find Bonnie's school at La Buissière. Her teacher, Guillaume, had already unlocked his car to leave, but he was good enough to come back and meet us, and show Bonnie her classroom. I had thought she would go to school tomorrow, but he said she should come on Monday, which Bonnie is very happy about.

We drove from La Buissière to La Flachère to find Odette's school. The road winding up the mountain was narrow, and I began to feel nauseous (Roger was driving - I'm not game to get behind the wheel yet). We discovered this is not the best way to get to La Flachère. Next time we'll remember to take an easier road. La Flachère is nestled right at the foot of a steep mountain face and the scenery is spectacular. Odette is happy that her school may not be close to home, but it has the best views! We were too late to meet the teacher, but arranged to go back again tomorrow at 10:30.

We continued driving and went to the Super U supermarket to get a few groceries. The children bought slippers because they have to take their shoes off and wear slippers in the classroom.