School Days

Going back to school is a crazy time here. Especially this year with three beginning school and one having a new school and schedule. Jonah started Gymnasium this year (5-12th grades). Here is a picture of him walking to school on his first day. His school begins at 7:30 and he is out most days by 1:15. (on really hot days he gets out by 11am because the school gets too hot and the teachers and kids can't get work done!)

Ashlyn and Caedon go up to the grade school around the corner. They begin at 7:50 (which I wish was the earlier beginning time since it takes just 5 minutes to walk and not 20, like Jonah) Here is a picture of Caedon at his desk on his first day.

We had to buy new notebooks and folders and workbooks for the big kids, but Caedon had to buy everything. Here is picture of his backpack. It is about the same size as a normal backpack, but hard and boxy. They also cost anywhere from $50 to over $200. The cheap ones probably wouldn't last the whole 4 years he will probably use it. We paid a whopping 89 euros for Caedon's. I am not sure what that is in dollars now but at least $120. (I am not above letting my child be different from the other children to be more economically frugal), but even a decent, normal backpack would be 50 euros and just wouldn't really work for his needs. The Germans want their kids to have the extra support and padding and they carry a lot in the backpacks. Caedon's backpack also came with a gym bag for his gym class and the "federtasche" for his pens, pencils and markers, and a bottle for drinks and a little container for his "second breakfast".


Here is a comparison shot of the various backpacks the kids carry. The first (left) is a cheap backpack that Jason or I would use (or the kids on a field trip), the middle is Caedon's new one and the third is Ashlyn's. We bought hers and Jonah's when they moved to the new school around the corner 3 years ago. I thought I was doing good buying them (1/2 price-88euros) but they are really more like what 4th-7th graders carry. Thankfully, Jonah and Ashlyn didn't care enough to complain or be upset. Ashlyn is finally carrying an "appropriate" backpack and Caedon has at least three classmates with the same backpack!

Jonah is going to have to rent a locker this year because his backpack is just too heavy for him to carry. He has small books, but also workbooks and folders and spiral notebooks and he is complaining how heavy it is.

Random Pics

Just a few pics to help illustrate the busy month I have had. Here are 3 bicycles, two of which are new from the flea market on the river. Logan has been asking for a bicycle for a long time, but they are too expensive to buy for the short time he could use it, so we lucked out and found 2 bikes in good condition for Logan and Caedon.

I bought new dishes to match the kitchen.

A bill we received from UPS for a whopping 1 cent. Apparently when one of our volunteer girls paid UPS to deliver her camera she under payed by 1 whole cent. Do I send the penny in the mail or make a 1 cent bank transfer?

This outlet fried just shortly before Jonah and Jason left at the end of May for Jonah's class trip. We hadn't yet gotten around to calling someone but the husband of the couple we had coffee with yesterday, came over last night and fixed it for free,yea!

The 1500 piece puzzle I finished about a month ago. I had to document the accomplishment before I broke it to pieces and put it up to do again later.

The kids just finished up school for the year (see Dindresden blog) and so we are about to enjoy our 6 weeks of summer before 3 kids begin school on August 10th.

Correction

Just a note to add to the swimming blog a few weeks ago. The child that entered my area was in fact a boy, and that would explain the staring. I found out that the school kids all go to the "women's" side to change. Oh well, I don't think he saw more than what his mom has exposed!

The Five List

Here is a top 5 list of the things about Germany:

Top 5 things I dislike: (in no particular order, not all inclusive)

1. No bulk items. I can only get large quantities occasionally and that of toilet paper, paper towels, and detergent.

2. No yellow squash. I really want a good squash casserole and some garlic sauteed squash.

3. Almost all bottles (coke, water, etc.) have to be returned to the store for money. One usually payes .15 to .25 cents for each and then given a receipt for the sum that is then redeemed at the checkout.

4. Recycling. I don't mind the plastic and food recycling, but I have to recycle cardboard, newspaper and magazines, and glass down the street. It collects quickly and takes a lot of precious storage space, till I can get it to the dump.

5. That everything is difficult here. Nothing is very easy. One has to go to several places to get things. There is no one stop shopping. It is not just shopping either, but pretty much everything.

Honorable mention: Carts at the store have to be "paid for" with a coin and then the coin is returned when you put the cart back. Powder detergent for the washing machine has no scoop. I don't know what germans do. Most Germans don't use deoderant or bathe regularly, so there is a very strong smell, especially in the summer!

5 Things I love about Germany:

1. CHOCOLATE!

2. The old buildings, the history that is thousands of years old, the beauty of the city.

3. The climate, there are 4 distinct seasons! Snow in winter, green trees, grass and flowers in spring, mild summer temps., and reds and oranges in the fall.

4. Dürüms. They are like a gyro or kabob but in a tortilla. Delicious!

5. CHRISTMAS! Dresden has the oldest Christmas market in Germany (probably in Europe) and it is so beautiful and festive here then.

Honorable Mention: Public transportation. It is good here, albeit a little slow. But one can get to the entire city with a bus or tram. Dogs are beloved here. It is very easy to travel with your dog and they are allowed almost anywhere, especially if they fit in a bag. The german alphabet has 4 different letters that make it distinct, ö,ä,ü,ß.

Top Floor

Looking straight into what we call the Nook.

My scrapbooking area. All the cabinets are full of just my hobby stuff.

The Library part.

The school part. The kids have their art supplies and school books and workbooks,etc. under the desk.

Our Room:

Our bed

Looking straight into the room from the door with the blinds up. The roof outside these windows is a metal one and doesn't allow for the rollladen like the other rooms in the house. Therefore, a whole wall of windows facing west can be very hot!

Dresser sitting under the eaves to the right of the room.. The stairs are behind the quilt wall.

Straight in with the blinds down and the tri-fold up. It helps keep some of the light and heat out.

The bed again. The color isn't so good here, but the bed is two shades of khaki. At the foot of the bed is a trunk.