Back to School

The school year started in Luxembourg on September 15. 

Otto, age 4, began his official first year of Luxembourg school, called Cycle 1. Luxembourg law requires all children who are four years old prior to September 1 of each year to begin Cycle 1. 

Aksel, age 3, began his first year of Luxembourgish preschool, called Précoce. 

From the time school ended on July 15 until now, Otto has been asking when school would begin again. I overhead him telling Aksel on several occasions that it would be okay to cry. 

The night before school started, I asked Otto to tell Aksel what it would be like to go to school and Otto said: 

Aksel, it's going to be awesome. You're going to color and play and bake stuff and go to parks and ride buses and go on lots of fun field trips. 

There's so much to love about school in Luxembourg! 



We were all awake bright and early on the morning of the 15th. Never in the history of their lives have Otto and Aksel eaten breakfast, dressed themselves, and put on their shoes and coats faster. 

By 8:15 a.m. we were having a hard time keeping them in our house and on the front porch, we gave in and started the three-block walk to school. 

The school was dead and the doors were locked. 

By 8:20, we convinced them to walk home and put on hats and gloves and watch one episode of Curious George. Twenty minutes later, we were on our way back to school. 

As soon as we approached the school steps, Ben announced he had forgotten their yellow admittance papers at home. A few days prior to the start of school, we received a yellow piece of paper in the mail with all of their school registration information and are required to bring it with each child on the first day of school. So we killed a few more minutes on the steps while Ben ran home. 

Finally, we walked through the doors. 

Several mothers and fathers said hello, asked us about Aksel, wished us luck and whisked their children to their classes. It was such a happy feeling to be remembered. To be able to talk to other parents. To feel like I knew exactly what to do and where to be. To feel the excitement of a new school year. 

Précoce

Aksel was dropped off first.

It certainly made things easier that he watched Otto go to school every day for an entire year. Aksel knew just what to do, where to hang his coat and stash his shoes and where to find the toys. 

He paused for a moment as he sensed the rest of us leaving and became hesitant about whether or not I should stay, but his eyes locked with a train set and he hasn't looked back since. 

The purpose of Précoce in Luxembourg is to introduce children to the Luxembourgish language and to teach them how to play with others. Aksel's class is made up of 18 children who are French, German, Luxembourgish, Indian, Bhutanese, Turkish, Danish, and Irish. He is the second youngest. Aksel is the only American. Our family is the only American family at the entire school. 

His teacher's names are Joffer (teacher) Marianne Thorn and Joffer Elisa Bucarini. The hours of his class are Monday through Friday mornings from 9 -11:40 and Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons from 2-4. Thankfully, because Aksel's program is not mandatory, I can keep him home to sleep in the afternoons or when I sense he needs a break from school -- something I regularly did with Otto during the previous year. 

We were asked to provide the classroom with €20. This money provides a snack for the children during the morning hours. Usually bread with cheese and jam. In the afternoon, I send a piece of whole fruit with Aksel to be cut and shared amongst the class. 

Every Monday afternoon, he participates in gym class. I re-used the odd white (required) shoes from Otto and put them in a basket. Each Monday, I'll send Aksel to school in "gym" clothes and he'll retrieve his "gym" shoes from the basket on his way to gym. 

Aksel also has a pair of "pantoufles" (indoor slippers) that he puts on in place of his shoes while inside the classroom. He loves them. 

Per their request, we also provided his teachers with a spare change of clothes in case of an "accident" and €20 for classroom materials. 

His teachers also requested the following: 

• Dress Aksel in comfy clothes.
• Notify them in advance of his birthday and whether I will be providing a cake and if I would like pictures of the party. 
• Leave personal toys at home.

At the end of each day, his teachers put a small journal in his backpack for me. Inside the journal is a stamp indicating how his behavior was during the day and any notes they may have for me about his behavior or upcoming activities in the class. It also provides me an opportunity to make any comments or ask questions. 

Aksel's teachers are a good fit for both me and Aksel. Having already survived a year of Prècoce, I know he will be well taken care of and he will be given experiences I can't give him. I feel so excited for him and all he will be doing. 

Cycle 1

After saying goodbye to Aksel, we happily walked Otto to another part of the school's campus in a stand-alone orange and white building. Having already met his teacher in July and toured his classroom, he made his entrance into Joffer Nathalie Elsen's classroom as cool as cucumber. 

He looked for his name in the entryway for a place to hang his backpack and coat. Otto put on his pantoufles (red crocs), looked at Ben and I and said, Äddi (goodbye) before we knew what was happening. 

Joffer Nathalie gave me a smile and I didn't have anything else to do but leave. 

Although there are two Prècoce classes at the Gasperich school, there are seven Cycle 1 classes. 

Additionally, there are only two crèches in Gasperich that will take and pick up preschool-age children from the Précoce. This limits the amount of children that are accepted into the preschool and it also limits which parents can even enroll their child in Précoce based on their enrollment in which crèche. 

Because school is required by Luxembourg law at age 4, all crèches take children age 4 and older to and from school each day. If children aren't in a crèche (usually after age 8), they are enrolled in a Foyer, which is essentially a supervised recreation center located on the school's campus where kids hang out, eat lunch, or do homework during the lunch breaks and/or before or after school. However, space is limited in the Foyers and I often hear parents complaining about getting a spot for their child.

There are 11 children in Otto's class and three of them are from Otto's Prècoce: Assia, Elias and Anja. 

The hours of Otto's classroom are Monday through Friday from 8-11:40 am and Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons from 2-4 pm. Hence the need for crèches and foyers. Luckily, until half term (six weeks from now), I can drop Otto off at 9 am, instead of 8 am. 

If Otto is sick for more than two days, a doctor's note is required. If a doctor's note is not presented, it will be reported to the Ministry of Education. Any request for absences outside of holidays are to be presented to the School President. 

Each morning I send, in Otto's backpack, a water bottle and a snack. Joffer Nathalie has requested a bread, dairy product, fruit or vegetable to eat and water to drink. She has specifically asked us to refrain from packing sugars, chips and lemonades. He doesn't get a snack in the afternoon, unlike last year. He thinks he might starve to death. 

Every other Monday, Otto will swim with his class at the school swimming pool and we send him with a swim bag, swim suit, swim cap, and towel on those days. 

Each Tuesday morning, his class will ride the number 18 bus to Kockelscheuer where they will explore the forest. For this weekly excursion, we bought a very specific and strange pair of rain pants, rain coat and rain boots, which are required to be kept in his classroom at all times. 

Every Wednesday afternoon, Otto will participate in a gym class. He keeps a gym bag at school complete with weird white gym shoes, athletic shorts and a tee shirt. 

His teacher also requested the following: 

• Notify her in advance of his birthday, and if I do provide a cake, please provide one without crème (Ben and I can't decide if it means cream filling or frosting).
• Leave personal toys at home.
• Every Wednesday morning another instructor, Monique Brandenburger, will replace Nathalie. 
• Three times throughout the school year we will have a "bilan" (parent/teacher conference).

We get to look forward to the following school holiday dates: 

• Half term: November 2-6
• Christmas: December 21 - January 1
• Half term: February 8-12
• Easter: March 28-April 8
• Ascension Day: May 5
• National Day: June 23
• Last day of school: July 15

When I picked up Aksel, he was walking down the steps holding hands with another small child and his face lit up when he saw me. He ran to me, jumped in my arms, asked for an m&m and said, I played with trains! 

When I picked up Otto, he walked over to me and said, You're late. Elias held my hand. I didn't get to finish a puzzle. 

God bless you, Elias. 

I explained to Otto that I would always be a few minutes late because I'm the only mom who has to pick up a child from both Précoce and Cycle 1 buildings (opposite ends of the campus). I also reassured him I had checked with both teachers on who I should pick up first. They all responded: Aksel. 

I can tell it makes a difference to Otto to have someone to go to school with. He's not the one missing out on all the fun at home. He's not the only one making the cold walk to a lot of unknowns. He's got a buddy in Aksel and it's made him that much more confident and happy about his own experience at school. 

I can tell it also makes a difference to Aksel to not be left behind. He's not the one missing out on all the fun at school. He gets to make that exciting walk to and from school each day and he's got an older brother to show him the way. 

Ben thinks I have a ton of free time now. Maybe he forgot about Ingrid? 

All morning long, she toddled after me asking, Where's Otto? Where's Ackel?  We kept busy at the park, petting the neighbor's dog and making muffins. And when the boys returned, I've never been more proud of them for going to school in a foreign country and proud of myself for surviving it all. 

I will feel genuine sadness about returning to the states and leaving the school system here behind. I don't know how much of this place or the school or the language the boys will remember but I'm completely grateful that for the rest of their lives I will be able to tell them they can do hard things because they've already done them while living in Luxembourg.