We had a fairly busy weekend – Isabelle went to Parents’ Night Out at the Y on Friday night so we went of for Mexican with a couple of Paul’s co-workers. Parents’ Night Out is great – we drop her off at 6 and can pick her up as late as 10. On Friday there were about 60 kids – fewer than usual with the flu fears. They play outside and in the gym, eat pizza, do crafts and generally wear themselves out. The Y has it 2 Fridays a month and it is free with our membership – definitely cheaper than a sitter!
Saturday Isabelle had soccer in the morning – she did much better than last week and seemed to have more fun – most of the time.
Sunday, we went to an event at the school Isabelle will go to next year. She will be attending the Ecole Francaise Bilingue which is run by Michelin and meets the requirements of both the South Carolinian and French education systems. As the name suggests, her days will be divided half and half in French and English. We learned on Sunday that there will be 6 or 7 students in her class.
We arrived around 10 to watch the youngest students sing Frere Jacques in 7 languages. The performances continued with skits, scenes from Ionesco and Moliere and some dance and music performances. I kept thinking of my two high school French teachers hoping what I learned 20 years ago will magically come back in the next few months so I can help Isabelle!
At noon, there was a potluck lunch – I took quiche, like many others, I am going to have to find new recipes! There were also salads and couscous, bread and cheese, cold meats etc – need I say, everything was homemade. Also homemade were the sweets, which were sold to raise money for the PTA – there was creme caramel, tartes, cookies, cakes – again, I am going to have to step up my game!
After lunch was playtime. Each child was given a card with a list of activities. Once all the activities were completed, they could claim a prize. Some of the activities were new to me – there was one where the child was blindfolded and has to follow instructions to cut a hanging candy off a string and another where they had to walk backwards through a path using a mirror to guide them. Isabelle had lots of fun meeting some of her future classmates and teachers. I am not sure who is looking forward to starting school more.