Then a week passed. A school week in France. Which is a whole new world for us. First of all - SCHOOL? Yes, Noah is actually only 3 years and 3 months old, but in France you start school as a 3 year old. That's a huge change. Not only is it a school, but also impressions with new adults and children. Everyone speaks different languages. I do not want to call it an international school, but with both Frenchmen, Englishmen and now also a Dane among them, the class is then about to be reasonably internationally presented. However, the teaching takes place in French.

Så længe leve youtube og netflix der har kørt på både engelsk og fransk, siden vi tog beslutningen, om at prøve et liv i alperne for 1,5 år siden 😉

Well, but back to where we came from. How has the school week gone?

Noah smiling and happy first day of school! What a day.

The first day was purely a dream scenario. Noah was so excited, happy and energetic to get going. He could not wait at all and woke up at. 6 in the morning where he said "Moar, I'm going to school nuuuu". It was a pleasure in itself.

We arrived at the school at 8.25, with a bandage on and waiting outside. The church bells on the opposite side of the school rang at exactly 8.30 and at the same moment the door to the school opened.

We went in, everything was as it should be, they knew we were coming, but had not made a wardrobe space for Noah yet. It came and we got a nice seat.

Madame Laurence, som er Noahs lærer, bød os pænt velkommen og viste os ind i ”klasse lokalet”, som er delt op i tre. Et lokale til undervisning, fordybelse, læsning mm. Et lokale til leg og afslapning og til sidst et ”lokale” som er deres helt eget toilet/badeværelse. Meget fornemt inddelt og særligt i disse tider, så der er god plads til alle børnene, så de ikke mikses med de andre klasser når man skal på toilettet. 🙂

When it was 8.40, the school bell rang, which meant we had to say goodbye and good day, because then the day started. It actually went really well.

Jacob and I went home again, with a huge tense feeling in my stomach, nervous but also happy. It was absolutely wonderful how easy it had been for the first morning…

In the French school, the day is divided into two.
Morning classes from 8.40-11.40 and afternoons from 13.40-16.40. If we want, we can also choose that he is there for lunch, where they then eat together in the canteen and play / take time off for a full TWO hours. It's amazing! We can also choose to pick up Noah at 11.40, take him home and drop him off again at 13.40 or just give him the morning and then have the afternoon at home. It's a pleasure to have so much freedom in it.

Monday became a morning day so we picked him up at 11.40. He was sad. Had cried the last half hour. Noah himself said it was because the others would not play with him when they were outside. OUCH. It hurt my mother's heart. Two minutes later, however, he said "me okay again mom". Then everything was just fine and we could enjoy the rest of the day together, where Noah proudly told about the first day of school. (Those of you who follow Instagram, maybe saw Noah's little video on Monday where he told how it went).

Tuesday morning was bad .. Noah did NOT want to go to school. It was all turned upside down and was super sad. However, we got him handed over and it also went fairly well. But after 2 hours, I was called up. Noah had been crying the last hour, so I had to pick him up. Off off off .. It was not fun. Fortunately we live only 100m. away from school so I could run up and pick him up in no time. (Yes up, because it really goes uphill !!!) When I get up to him, he looks sad but does not cry. (Typical…)
I say nicely "a demain" (I'll see you tomorrow), after which Madame Laurence tells that the school is closed on Wednesdays! WHAT! Well okay so… Down here you only go to school 4 days a week. What a luxury!

Resten af tirsdagen blev brugt på hygge og leg hjemme, samt en tur på legeplads. Noah sagde selv, at han skulle bare holde en fri dag … Ja, den er god med dig du. Sådan fungerer det ikke 😉

So Wednesday gave itself. FREE!

Thursday morning was a struggle. Noah was completely unhappy when we handed him over and it just really hurt both of us. One of the other teachers took Noah crying and said we should just go. So we did. I was a little nervous about how it went. Constantly looking at my phone if they had now called from school. Approx. at 10.30 I sit on our terrace, and can hear a lot of children playing outside up by the school. I get nervous when I hear some kids cry. So I ask Jacob if he does not just want to sneak up and see if it is Noah who is crying.
Luckily it was not… Noah was so happy and rode around on a scooter in the schoolyard. Jubiii, I just thought!
When we came and picked him up at 11.40, he was so happy and had had a good day, as he himself said. That was great! We therefore chose to try the afternoon as well.

The two hour break gave us time for play, lunch break in the open air and lots of fun.

Kl. 13.40 Jacob went up with him, he was once again unhappy. But we had decided that he should try the afternoon, so Jacob handed him over with his teddy bear and had him laid on a mattress in the bedroom. Jacob told Madame Laurence that Noah actually had a pacifier that might help. It was a good idea, she thinks.

It must be said that the agreement with Noah and his pacifier has always been that Santa Claus should have the pacifiers on December 24th. But on Sunday, the day before Noah starts school, we actually take the pacifier from him. After a long drive down to France, freezing temperatures and way too much saliva, Noah had gotten some nasty sores around his mouth. That's why we took it. Actually to take a break, but when he suddenly did not ask for it anymore, we thought it was a good idea and try. It turned out that it might be a little silly when there were SO many new changes in the little man's life…

Jacob went home to pick up the pacifier, handed it at the front door to one of the teachers, and then went home again. When I picked up Noah at 4.40pm, he had his pacifier in his mouth. The teachers told that Noah had fallen asleep as soon as Jacob had gone, but had woken up half an hour later crying and had woken all the other children. Oops .. He then got his pacifier and the rest of the day had gone brilliantly. Noah proudly showed me what he had done. It was a real pleasure. So bad that the pacifier had to be used. As long as he's in a big habituation process, it's okay.

Friday morning Noah and I went hand in hand to school. He was happy, proud and went with his school bag, but the second we stood in front of the front door he got upset. I talked it away from him and showed him the new box we had packed with several of his things from home that the kids like to have standing in the closet. Then they can go out and look in it if they get bored. It helped.

The bell rang, we went inside. The box came in place, the shoes off, the jacket off, the hat off, on with sneakers and a happy Noah… right up until I said goodbye. It was with a few tears, but with the pacifier in his mouth and the teddy bear in hand, they waved really nicely and both said, "bye bye" and "au revoir". Fantastic!

It was a wonderful end to the first school week, which ended at. 11.40 where Noah was picked up by dad and was so happy. Today he had played with some of the other children, without any problems, Madame Laurence said! What a week we've had. Instructive in many ways and a lot of up and down trips.

A happy and satisfied Noah, after Friday's schooling and first week over!

Tak fordi du læste med! 🙂

EN