Back to school

Schultute time! Yes,  the kids are back in school, celebrated in true German fashion with their gift of school supplies. This year we broke down and bought pre-made fabric cones and then filled them with pencils and pens etc. After years of Phil and I frantically taping together the cones at midnight it did seem that the time had come to stop that. Or at least take advantage of the fact that we currently live in the country of schultutes and they are available everywhere.

It’s always a bit sad when the kids go back to school. I love the lazy summer days when we lose track of what day of the week it is and they sleep in, read and eat brunch, rather than a breakfast and a lunch. But this year, perhaps because of all the rain, everyone was ready to go back to school and see friends. The weather has really turned autumnal and it just seems like school should be in session. Tori was also happy to go as the entire eighth grade goes on a school trip to Italy for a week. Tori attended two days of classes and then got on a bus for the Arnthal Mountain Trip. Indicative of how much travel Tori does at school, we had no idea where she was really going. I asked around and there was no consensus; Germany? Austria? Italy?  Well, it’s Italy and parents in the know said the weather forecast there looked dry. We hope so.

Adam and Royce are officially in middle school now. They have a homeroom but switch classes every hour. Neither are bothered by this and Adam says he likes it better. More movement is definitely good for that boy. Both are trying out new activities. Adam is trying out for the cross country team, not so much because he loves to run but because of the sport travel options he sees Tori enjoy. (And because we are now allowing kids to carry a phone when traveling out of the country). I’m not sure he really understands he will have to run 10k every day for a couple months for 2 days of phone use but he seems excited now. Royce has her eye on the choir and art and clarinet lessons. Both were chosen to show the new students around and took that job on very seriously.

For the back to school BBQ this year, the rain stopped and the sun came out. The twins and I (Phil and Tori were away)rode our bikes to school but quickly found out our regular bike path was closed. Normally the ride takes about an hour and we added on a good bit of time. We detoured, also on a bike path, through the forest, winding down by a river and then across wide green fields dotted with wildflowers. It definitely seems like our third school year here. We’ve gone from not being able to find the school with a map and car to finding the school on bike after asking people picking mushrooms in the forest for directions in German. Hoping we can coast for at least the first semester!