It's rentrée time

a really pretty pre-fall morning, rentrée 2010

not yet aware that the parents don't stay the whole time

Last week as everyone in France knows it was La Rentrée which is a big BIG deal here because not only do the kids start school but all of the families come back from vacation and there's a huge electric buzz in the air. It's a festive time but it's a little stressful all at the same time, hard to explain really unless you experience it living here. It involves a lot of long winded conversations with even the most casual acquaintances always starting with "how was your vacation?" and then "wellllll..." yet at the same time you know, you're in a really big hurry every minute of every day preparing for La Rentrée and getting the school supply list going so you dash and run and try to plan to see people for coffee to catch up because "who has time!!"

little S's class, CP

For us it was a big year because Little S started CP (like first grade in the US) and Charlotte started her first year of Maternelle in Petite Section. Little S was stressed because he'd been told all the rules of the playground at the end the school year last year and he was sure they were going to be ripping his childhood to shreds "on a meme pas le doit de jouer a cache-cache!" I'm not sure how true that is that they can't play hide and seek but he seemed really bothered by the transition. I felt it too when I had to buy him red ballpoint pens and rulers. "Wow he's not even six yet..." When he got to school he was relaxed because of course he saw all his friends and they all looked a little scared too so it was okay after that. He still says he hates school though and I have a hard time biting my tongue not to say "me too!!" Charlotte was a bit more tricky of course since it's her first time in school. She cried for three hours straight her first day. Then her second day she cried for three more hours! "c'est normale--c'est l'adaptation," but it is hard to walk away when they're crying like that. She only goes for half days so I think she'll adjust. The morning goes by so fast and I think they'll make it fun for her.

in the courtyard at school, that's his teacher in the background, the stocky man in the beige coat

The two schools are about five minutes apart by car and the race to get the two at lunch is comical. I barely have time to say a word to Charlotte's teacher and woosh we're off running, keys in hand to get Little S who is basically standing on the sidewalk waiting for us--pushed out the door by his school! I guess you just develop a rhythm but for now I'm all off kilter trying to remember who goes where at what time and how to time it all.

worried, this was before we went inside his school--and charlotte with her dou-dou, Dixie

Seb left for China yesterday, another sort of rentrée and his first weeks at his new job should tell us a lot so I was kind of happy to have him go to see firsthand what the company is like. If it's crazy disorganized he'll just resign and we won't take the chance. We'll just stay in France. I think it should be okay though. I mean I hope so because we're pretty excited to go but at least we have a four month safety net just in case.