Yep, School Started

School started the end of August, so did soccer.  With all the kids so busy, this is the first time that I could get these lovely "First day of school" pictures on the blog.  I was sad to see summer end, but it was a good summer that felt long.  The boys were starting to drive each other crazy and were starting to perfect their "why isn't there anything to do" whine, so I was getting ready for them to start as well. 

 

It is a big year for the kids with most of them having some big changes in their lives.

 

My Davis started High School!  I tell you, sending one to HS has had me cry more than a mom sending her baby to kindergarten.  He just seems too small for High School.  He has Honors World History and Honors Lit.  Geometry.  German 3.  Model UN.  Advanced Band. Biology.  He seems to like his classes and most of his teachers.  He also started early morning (up at 530 leaving by 600) seminary. 

 

 

Christian was the only one without a bunch of changes.  He started 7th grade, but because 6th was in the Middle School as well it wasn't new.  Now he feels like the big guy around having kids younger than him on campus.  He is playing the trumpet in the band again and has started Algebra and German 1.

 

 

Jag experienced the biggest changes this year.  He stopped homeschooling and started 4th grade at Ramstein Intermediate (3 kids, 3 different schools).  He wasn't excited to go. He didn't want to leave.  He dreaded the first day of school ALL. SUMMER. LONG.  I knew it was time for him to start and I still feel right about the decision, but he hasn't made as smooth of an adjustment as his brothers did when they started school.  I am sure that things will end up fine, but this may be a pretty tough year for both of us.  He likes the end of the day best and thinks that school is way too long.  Pretty typical 4th grader.

 

 

Noah is experiencing big changes this year as well.  He is homeschooling 1st grade.  He finished up at his German Kindergarten and we spent a lot of time trying to decide what the best next step would be for him.  He could have moved on to the German school with his buddies from kindergarten, but I was hesitant to have him do that.  Darin thought it would be great and for the language it would have been.  However, they are on a totally different school year schedule and aren't totally keen on us taking our kids out of school so that we can go on vacation.  I just couldn't miss out on the travel opportunities of our last year, and I would feel too embarrassed to tell the school that we'd be taking our kid out when his brothers were off so that we could vacation.  We also talked about trying to put him in Ramstein Elementary school German Immersion program.  That seemed like a decent option, but they were going to speak quite a bit more English than German, and he would have to ride a K-12 bus for 45 minutes each way.  He is really too little to ride that long with big kids and school is just too far for me to commit to driving him every day all year long.  In the end, homeschooling felt like the right answer anyway.  The trick will be keeping his German from totally going away.  He watches cartoons in German daily, and Darin works with him, but it will slowly go this year.  So Sad.  We plan to get together with his buddies, but I think that Marlon is with his grandparents now that his mom has passed away.  It will be strange to be with Valentin without Marlon, but hopefully that will be possible at some time.

I love spending time with Noah.  He is a sweet kid for me to be with.  He is doing great, but REALLY misses his kindergarten buddies and his best friend, Jag.  One day during the first week he came racing through the family room, fist high in the air, yelling "Curse you School for Taking my Buddy Away!"  He was talking about Jaggy.  He and Anya are bound to become closer and that is a good thing.

 

School year 2013-2014

blurry picture because it was raining on the first day



Noah- 1st grade.  Jag- 4th grade. Davis- 9th grade.  Christian- 7th grade.

Final Day at Kindergarten

In August the Kindergarten Kinder put on a performance as a close to their time there.

They danced, sang, and had a play. 

 

Noah and his best buddies, Marlon and Valentin, were wolves.

 

 Although we didn't really understand the story behind the play, it contained action (wolves pee pee machen) and drama (wolves sick because of eating bad food).  The acting was super.  The wolves were darling.

 These are the 3 oldest at the school.  They are leaving the kindergarten.  The teachers gave a Schuletute (cone things) filled with treats and school supplies to each of the kids.

Noah, Marlon, Valentin

Noah and his teacher Ute (OO-Tah).  She doesn't smile in pictures, but is a really sweet person.

 The outgoing Kindergarteners presenting the teachers with a gift.  Each of the outgoing "classes" gives something to the school.  Noah and I went over to Valentin's house and with Marlon and his mom made this mirror gift and let the kids play.

 Releasing balloons into the sky with wishes from the mom's, for the upcoming school year, tied to them.   

Kindergarten was such a wonderful blessing to us.  We are grateful for the time that Noah had to attend, to make friends, and to learn German.  His teachers were kind and helpful.  He found great friends.  It was a wonderful experience.  He won't be going to the next level of German school with his buddies.  We went back and forth with the pros and cons.  Mainly, the fact that his schedule for school breaks would be so different than that of the other boys and Darin was the main reason not to send him.  He is homeschooling first grade this year.  We are watching TV shows in German and hoping to get some more playdates with his friends, but we know that his language skills are going to start to disappear soon.  It is really sad.

The kindergarten teachers were asking me about sending Anya.  At first we decided to, but then (as Darin says)  I freaked out and told them no.  I just can't send my baby.  Besides, it was only going to be for 1 year.  If we were going to be here longer, then I probably would, but not for one year.  Besides, Anya already "speaks" German.  Whenever she is around German she starts speaking gibberish.  Her German includes a lot of "Danke schoen" and "Who Ha" kind of like her mom.

**As I post this I am so very sad.  Marlon's mom and my friend, Andrea Gross, died yesterday.  [she is in all white in the balloon picture]  Just over 2 weeks ago the kids were over here playing.  When she came to pick up Marlon she was telling me about her headaches.  A few days later she was in the hospital having suffered a stroke or brain hemorrhage of some sort (from what we can gather-our German is limited).  She was in a coma.  It seemed like she was possibly getting better, but yesterday when they discovered there was more bleeding in her brain they went to operate, but it was too late.  She had just turned 41.  Marlon was an only child.  She was a wonderful mom.   I don't know what will happen with their family now or if Noah will be able to see his friend again.  I am so sad and confused.  I just don't understand.  I will always remember her. 

FCK (I did not leave out a letter)

FCK=Football Club Kaiserslautern

I still think that it looks wrong when I see it on one of the boys' shirts. 

This is the professional soccer team in our area.  They held a great, week long soccer camp on base. 

They received full uniforms, ball, team coaches and players working with them for a week.  My boys LOVE this opportunity and we were super lucky to be able to be involved.  It sold out/filled up in under 5 minutes; yep, I'm good.

 

Sun and these kids just don't mix.  NO open eyes in our pictures.

 

 At the end of the week long camp they held a "mini world cup" and assigned all the kids to countries.  Then there was a BBQ and the Rote Taufel (Red Devil) mascot came to hang out.  It was a really hot day, poor Devil.

 Anya could not leave the Taufel alone.  She was his buddy.  She kept looking at him, smiling at him, following him, trying to get into every picture with him.