This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We survived our first 2 week vacation from school!  Reese’s nanny was also on vacation so both kids were home for 2 weeks.  Ryan traveled during the first week but was home the second week and he took a few days off so we were able to enjoy some family time.

We had some nice weather during the break so we spent a lot of the time at the park or taking walks.  Halloween was during the break so we painted and carved pumpkins and went to a friend’s Halloween party where we met 2 French families who have kids in Makenna’s school.  Makenna also got to wear a costume to her dance class, which she proudly announced to her class that she was Tinkerbelle, although I’m pretty sure it’s a different name in French so they probably had no idea what Makenna was saying.  We also did a few art projects and went on the carousel.

Now Makenna will have school for another 6 weeks and then will have 2 weeks off at Christmas!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

One of the things that is interesting, and sometimes charming, about France is how in some ways they are “behind the times” or do things the old fashioned way.

In school, each child has a notebook that they take back and forth to school and is the method of communication between the teacher and parents.  The teacher may write a note in there about something specific, or put information in there such as upcoming events or how there is a cafeteria strike the next day (which has happened several times in the first 2 months of school!), or the parents could write a note for the teacher.  Instead of the teacher printing things out and stapling them/putting them in a folder/using a hole-punch and binder, they print things out, cut them and glue them into the notebook.  It’s not the most efficient way of doing things!

While schools in the US may provide information online, hold parent-teacher conferences etc, the schools here create a cahier de vie, or “personal diary”, which tells parents how the class is run and what the class has been doing and learning (and again the information is printed and glued into a notebook).  During each 2 week school vacation (which happens about every 6 weeks), the children take this notebook home for the parents to review and then they bring it back to school after the vacation for the teacher to add to it.  Makenna brought her cahier de vie home for the first time and it was so nice to see everything that she has been doing since she doesn’t tell us much!  This will also be such a nice souvenir for her to look back at when she is older.  It had information on the teacher, teacher’s assistant, how the class is run, photos of all of the kids in the class, photos and information on the activities the children do throughout the day, photos of kid’s birthdays that they have celebrated, songs that they sing, and more.

Makenna also took home a cahier de travaille, or a workbook, which included all of the projects she has done in class so far.  This notebook stays home with us and a new one is sent home at each school break.

I just love how different some aspects of school are here and that Makenna is getting to experience this.