Just some thoughts

The longer we're here, the fewer posts I seem to have.  I think partly because everything isn't so new, and life has just taken over.

We knew Robyn would be a happy camper for sure once she could read for fun again (now in German).  The day has come!  She started Harry Potter 2 days ago and is half-way through.  She was up by 6AM today reading away.  When we registered her for school in the fall, they said they wouldn't grade her for her first year in German.  I guess she was able to keep up so well that they forgot.  The big half-year grades came in, and she did wonderfully!

The kids here have a report card book where their grades are recorded for all of their years throughout school.  Grading and discipline seems much more public here in general.  For example, if you get a "strike" for forgetting something, not doing your homework, etc, everybody knows.  There is also a lot more emphasis on oral competency, even in math.    Only 50% of grades are based on written tests, which is very different from The States.

Carly has caught up with her peers, as well.  She has especially enjoyed sewing and other art projects.  When her friend came over to play, they sculpted and painted cats for a class project.  My kind of pets!

Macy is ready to start "real" school in the fall.  They make a very big deal of it here.  I'm already going to parents' nights and appointments about it now.  The parents are obviously way more worried about it than the kids!

I thought I wouldn't like year-round school, but I think it's the best!  It's always time for another break right when we all need one.  I guess we haven't come to June yet when we're used to being out and will be in school, but so far, we've loved it.

We continue to meet friendly people from all over--an opera singer and cellist from Mexico, families from Italy, Poland, Spain, Brazil...  In church last week, Myles translated for a woman from Portuguese into German!  Now that I've got German down a little bit better, I can start to think/speak in Spanish again.

 We are starting to see signs of spring.  Ya-hoo!  It's hard to believe it was over a year ago now that Myles and I came for the first time to check things out.