Dennis took the kids to school this morning, and Joey and I stayed in--I studied a little German and he played trains. And then, at about 9:30, when the stores opened, I did what any good American girl would do and went to the mall.
I actually went to a large grocery store that was inside a mall, one that I heard had a much better selection of food than the little store near us. Rumors were true: I found ketchup, crackers, celery...silly little things that you'd normally never think twice about buying.
For Alex, the chocolate was counteracted by the fluoride treatment that he received in school today. He talked a little bit more about what happens in school: he says that each day a man comes to his class and puts on a puppet show, and that they sing songs all the time and play chasing games on the playground. Sound like good fun. I've gotten to meet only a couple of the moms of Alex's classmates, but the one I talked with this morning was very friendly--her son is just a few weeks older than Alex, and she has an older son in Ella's grade as well. I didn't realize, but she explained to me, that there are kids spanning two years of kindergarten mixed together in each Kindergarten class. So Alex is one of the younger kids in his class, which has many five- and six-year-olds as well.
Ella had art class this morning, and they practiced whittling. She whittled circles, and she only broke four knives, she says. And a little bit of skin. The kids and I had a leisurely walk home: they discovered that there are snail shells littering sides of the path on the way home, so they walked home with their nose to the ground, looking for the prettiest, most stripey ones. I now have a little bowl of shells soaking clean next to my sink. They'll really come in handy.
After lunch, on the way back to school, a woman called us over to the side of the path and pointed out a wild fox, drinking out of the public swimming pool. I'd never seen a wild fox before, but it was much bigger than I'd expected...at least 25 lbs, I'd guess. I read about red foxes when I got home, and apparently Switzerland has a very large urban fox population. In the 70s and 80s they started a rabies vaccination program for the animals, to great success. Even knowing that, I was surprised and nervous to see such a large, wild animal on the children's path to school.Aside from talking with that woman, today I managed to have a couple very brief (but understandable! Hooray!) conversations with strangers--usually older ladies, commenting on Joey's shenanigans. He's a charmer and a flirt and a wonderful ice-breaker. We’ve met a few families in the building--there are many small children, which is a nice surprise.
While Ella had her afternoon session at school, the boys and I hit the playground.
A couple of Alex's classmates were at the playground as well, and they called him over to play: "Alex! Spiel mit mich!" He's still shy, though, and clung to my leg for a few beats before racing after them. The boys played hard for three solid hours, and Joey, though he protested when I put him in his stroller, fell asleep within a minute of being strapped into his stroller. Alex and Ella played a little longer on Ella's playground, though, and would probably be there, still, if I hadn't gotten tired and insisted on going home.
Played-out kids are peaceful kids, and we had a quiet afternoon. Joey slept on my lap while I read, and Ella and Alex were sugar-sweet, making presents and pictures for each other and then a party for Dennis and me....they decided it was "parent's day."
She told me "Mom, I had no idea parties were such hard work! Thank you for all the birthday parties you threw for me!" Honestly, I didn't expect to hear that sentence until she'd had children of her own. I was touched.
No comments:
Post a Comment