Am I really writing this post? Is my first baby really old enough to go to school?! Well, in France most kids start school at the age of 3. It’s not obligatory, but it is free and it is when formal schooling starts, so why not?
When we moved here, we thought we would be here exactly 3 years which would put us at moving home in December of this year so we figured we just wouldn’t be sending Makenna to school since she would only be in school for a few months before we would be leaving. So, we didn’t look for an apartment near the international school (Massillon) where most of the expats go. Once we found out we’d be staying here longer than we thought, I quickly signed Makenna up to start Petite Section at the international school. After several months I had an epiphany and thought “why am I sending her there??” There is a French public school about a 10 minute walk from our apartment, whereas Massillon is far enough where I would need to drive and there is no parking lot so I would have to fight for street parking and then take Reese in and out of the car and then do this 2-3 times a day depending on if she came home for lunch (which many children do). In Petite Section, there is no English class so Makenna wouldn’t be benefitting from learning any English at the international school anyway. So I quickly made an appointment at the nearby public school and decided to make my life easier and give Makenna the experience of going to a true French school.
In June, there was a meeting for new parents that went over all the basics. Ryan was out of town and our sweet nanny was so kind to offer to come with me to try and explain everything. After sitting through an hour and a half of nothing but French, my head hurt and I probably understood 75% of it. The nanny doesn’t speak English so she tried to explain things to me slowly or in other words that I would understand. All in all it worked out. Then I had to wait until September 1st to go to the school and look at a list taped to the window that would say which teacher Makenna would have.
The first week of school was gradual. On Monday we took Makenna to school for only 30 minutes to meet her teacher and see her classroom. Ryan’s parents were here so they were able to come and experience it with us. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the kids were split into 2 groups and one group went to school on Tuesday and the other group went on Wednesday. Thursday began the normal schedule where all kids went, and there are 28 of them in her class! Makenna’s teacher has a teacher’s aide, but it is still a large class of 3-4 year olds.
Parents have the option of sending their child for just the morning 8:35-11:45, or the full day until 4pm. We decided to start with just the morning and see how things went. After just a few days, Makenna said she wanted to stay at school for lunch and wanted to stay the full day so she is now going to school all day and eating lunch at “la cantine”.
Makenna is loving school. She has already done some art projects and we have been told she is working on a project where she will have to come home and tell us a story by memory. There is also a class mascot “Lulu”, a stuffed bunny, that each child will be able to take home for the weekend. The class has several projects throughout the year, one of them being a liaison between their city school and a school in the suburbs where they will communicate, share projects and meet with them once or twice throughout the year. The kids go outside for playtime every morning and the courtyard is attached to the courtyard of the elementary school so Makenna gets to see her friend Elis (our Brazilian neighbor who is like her big sister) every day. Sometimes we walk to school with Elis and the girls hold hands and give each other bisous (kisses) when they say goodbye, it’s so cute!
When Makenna first started, her teacher was worried she might have to try translating some things if Makenna didn’t understand everything, but she said there have been no problems and that Makenna not only understands everything but speaks well and without an accent! (thanks to our nanny and Ryan!)
As for school lunch, I will be writing a separate post on that one. You’d be shocked at the menu and the length of time they have etc. I am so happy Makenna gets to experience this aspect of school while we’re here.
Another interesting fact about school here is that the children go to school for 6 weeks and then have a 2 week break. This might be a little difficult for parents who work, but most parents either have a grandparent/nanny/daycare that they can use for these times or there are camp-like activities for kids during the breaks. A lot of families take vacations at these times, since the French have 5 weeks of vacation and sometimes these breaks fall during a holiday. On Wednesdays, some classes don’t have school. Apparently this has changed several times through different presidencies, but as of now some schools can choose whether or not kids below 2nd grade have school on Wednesday. Others have school but only in the morning. Wednesday is usually a day for extracurricular activities. I have chosen not to send Makenna to school on Wednesday, even though her school does have class in the morning, because she is continuing to go to the dance school that she went to last year and the class is Wednesday mornings.
When Makenna started school, Reese started going to the nanny that she went to. He goes from 9-12, 3 days a week, which gives me some time to go to the gym or whatever I want to do without kids. It really winds up being closer to 2 hours of free time after I factor in the time of walking to and from the nanny, walking to the gym or wherever I’m going, etc. It’s nice to have some kid-free time and it’s also great for Reese to be with other kids, another caretaker and also to start learning French.
I’m excited to see what this school year brings. I can’t wait to see the progress Makenna makes in speaking French. I look forward to hopefully volunteering for school field trips and other activities where I can also practice my French and maybe make some French friends. I may be missing out on socializing with the other American moms at Massillon, but this will be an experience to treasure!
The Pawlowski's Go To France 