French School

The boys started school on Monday, they seemed pretty chilled about the idea of starting, as if it was just normal. We kept telling them they'd be great and we didn't expect anything of them, we just wanted them to go in and give it a try. We have been doing some youtube French with them over the last 6 months and last week we were going over the French alphabet.

The day before they got a bit nervous. I think Percy especially started realising that it was quite a big deal, he said, "I've not got enough French in me," but they were excited too. I was slightly worried that we'd get there and the school wouldn't be aware they were starting today and they would be turned away. Mainly because I had a whole day of lounging planned, my first day to relax in weeks, maybe months.

They we're pretty excited when they woke up and at 8:30 all four of us headed off. 

At 8am I decided it wasn't shorts weather, by the time we left at 8:30 it was shorts weather.

The school is just 5 minutes walk away. It's the only school in the village, and the French have a revolutionary system of everyone going to their nearest school. You go to your Mairie (town hall/one stop shop) and ask to be given a school place and they give you one. No one chooses a school (unless you want some kind of special school) this means the longest anyone is walking to our school is 10 minutes, so most people walk, but there's also a parent car park which has more spaces than there are cars. This is a massive revelation for me because their old primary school had a car park so small that not even all the teachers could park in it. I didn't realise it until now, but the school run used to be pretty stressful. Me and Percy went by bike, with Eric in a trailer and everyday we had to do a little bit where we turn right off a busy main road. I felt like we risked our lives a little bit everyday. Once a wheel did come off the trailer and a few times cars were impatient and got too close to us. Cars were parked all over the place near the school, people would come half an hour early to get the best spots and if we ever drove it took so long getting out of there. So to walk for 5 minutes on a quiet road is a dream.

The school is really small, I'm not sure how many kids but less than 100 and about 20 per class. We got to the school gates and a man on the door said "Percy and Eric?" which was great! I was so happy my day of lounging had been confirmed ... I mean happy for my kids to be educated. They pointed to where Eric needed to go and Dan took him, which left me without my translator to sort Percy out. Fortunately his teacher has very good English, unfortunately she's only his teacher on a Monday. They didn't really say a lot, they just showed him the classroom and he took a seat right by the door and then I had to just leave him, which was weird. Dan said Eric went really silent before he left.

The school day is very different to how it is in English schools. In this school (and I think this is pretty standard) they go in from 8:45 to 4:30, which is a long day, but they have a 1 hour 45 break for lunch and they never go in on a Wednesday. For this term at least they will come home for lunch. This was really great on the first day for them to know it's only until 12:15 and then you can come back for a break from all the French before the afternoon lessons. There's also a morning play time and unlike in Liverpool the kids are all on the same playground at the same time, so Percy and Eric can play with each other.

While they were in I got on with some lounging. I also hung some pictures on the wall and tried to sort out the kitchen being fitted in our old house.

I'm actually not topless here, it's just a weird angle where you can't see the bikini.

When we picked them up for lunch Percy's teacher told us that there was a trip for him tomorrow! It was to Colloiure where we had just been that weekend. That meant he would be with strangers all day, without coming back for lunch, and we had to somehow buy insurance for both boys. Not just for the trip, but for the whole rest of the year. It's like public liability insurance in case they hurt themselves in school. That was pretty random.

On the first day Percy said he didn't know what lesson he was in, but after further questioning we think the lesson was a maths lesson about angles. I wish they would give him a maths sheet with just sums on it, he'd love that and he's good at maths, but apparently all the maths questions were sentences.

Eric gets a quiet time after lunch where he can have a nap, or if not he has to just be calm. They have a little room with cot sized bunk beds for all the kids. The class room is very nice, it quite like what he's used to, there's a little toy shop and toy kitchen and the room is attached to a bigger cafeteria where all the kids who stay in for lunch eat. That's also the same place where you can go to a Wednesday club if you want. He was very chuffed when he came out at the end of the day because it was another boy's birthday which meant he got a party bag of sweets. We were very proud of them both for getting through the first day.

We were a bit concerned for Percy and the trip, it's great he was going out doing something practical, they were climbing a hill and seeing a castle. It was a full day of strangers for him. At home time we saw the bus arrive and kids began getting off it. We couldn't see Percy anywhere and I was slightly worried they'd left him in Collioure, but it turns out he was in a window seat and the kid next to him had fallen asleep and Percy didn't know how to get out. Aww bless him. 

By Wednesday they were happy to have a day off. We did some English home schooling, Percy learnt the difference between your, you're, there, their and they're, and Eric learned the phonics sound "oi" as in foil, soil, coin. In the afternoon Dan dropped us off in Ille-sur-Tet. I drove for practice (I haven't yet driven without him in the car). We'd been to Ille-sur-Tet before, but not to this particular lookout spot which was incredible and the photos really don't do it justice.

We went for a bit of a wander too, off the main road scrambling up some rocks looking out for lizards and stuff, (there was one in our garden the other day). We found what I first thought was abandoned furniture, but later realised was beehives!

On Thursday Percy's class were learning English, so he got taken out to learn the French alphabet with one other kid, a Ukrainian girl who I'm guessing has just fled the Ukraine. We were told he'll get those lessons every morning, so I think that will help, and I'm impressed that the school can do that for him. I've signed up to go on two school trips next week! Eric's class is going to the next door village for some kind of sports day and Percy's class is doing forest school. I'm sure I'll be no help at all, but it will be good to meet other parents and maybe pick up a bit of French, and every time I put myself in embarrassing situations it's all good material, for all those comedy gigs I don't do anymore. Maybe for our podcast that I haven't got round to editing yet.

Today (Friday) Percy was not that happy to be going into school again, but at lunch time pick up his teacher was telling me he is good at maths. They finally gave him a worksheet with questions just in numbers. She said he can bring in an English reading book too, which he's very happy about. I tried to tell her he is good at reading, but I could remember the word for reading so I said, "he look at book good," like an absolute idiot.

I'm enjoying trying to get myself into a little routine when the kids are in school. So far I've been dropping them off at 8:45 then trying to get in a bit of exercise before it gets too hot. I went for a run a couple of times, and today I cycled 2 villages east to Le Soler. I bought a baguette and some kind of half bread half popadom with sugar on and cycled back, only stopping to take a photo of the funnest bus stop I've ever seen. 

For the rest of my mornings I do a bit of house work while listening to a learn French audio book, it's hot enough to dry three washes a day which is very exciting! I have a few other French learning things I do too. The kids are back for lunch and we've tried doing the main meal then, it means less washing up and stuff in the evening. 

In the afternoon I've tried to make some time for creative stuff like blogging or painting, but there is always boring stuff to do too. Today we had to collect a parcel from a place 10 mins away, so I drove for driving practice. I'm getting better but Dan is away in the Czech republic a week tomorrow for work and I don't feel ready to be driving them around places yet.

At least I've discovered we do have a corner shop in walking distance, so we won't starve. It's a mixture of a pub, a coffee shop and a corner shop. It doesn't sell a lot, just a really weird selection of stuff, but if you're in the market for a baguette, a mood ring, a bit of dried pig (possibly it's face), and a frozen fish that still looks like a fish, it really is the best place. 

A la prochaine.