In other news...

Lily had her first week in German Kindergarten and she did great!

Since we've had some questions about this, let me explain. In Germany Kindergarten means something different than it does in North America. It is NOT the grade before first grade. It's a playschool/preschool for children aged 3-6, before Elementary School starts. Since attendance is not obligatory there is not much of an academic curriculum, it is more like a daycare focussed on social and life skills. The oldest children will have a 15-20min academic session a day and get to do fun things like sleep-overs, learning about traffic safety rules with a police man, visiting the kindertheater in Munich etc. Classes are typically mixed ages, so the younger kids can learn from the older ones. That is why Finn and Lily are in the same group now.

Since Lily was already well acquainted with Finn's classroom and teachers she did really well. Her first day was Monday, and on Tuesday she was a bit surprised she was going again, but she loves it there. They do circle time, snack, free play, crafts, special activities and lots of outdoor play.

Ready to go!

And off to play! Oh yeah, bye, Mama...

So now I have three mornings to myself! Lily will stay home on Mondays because she has speech therapy in the morning, and Finn will stay home Thursdays because he has his play/motor skills therapy at 11am. Lily has been going to speech for a while (her teacher is Canadian and specializes in bilingual children - perfect) and has come a long way. We are tackling one sound at the time, and while her lisp is still very pronounced (and SO cute, ha ha), she can now say "fish" and it doesn't sound like "tis".

Finn just had his first therapy session. His Kindergarten teachers recommended having him seen at an Early Intervention place, and they decided he could use a little help in the fine/gross motor skills department. He also doesn't focus very well on a given task so we'll work on his concentration too. We have pretty much decided we want to keep him in Kindergarten for an additional year, and hopefully the school board will agree. He misses the cut-off for first grade by 5 weeks (it's Sep 30), so it shouldn't be a problem, especially since his pediatrician is on board too. I think another year to mature physically (he is still small for his age) and mentally will do him good. Not that he wouldn't be perfect just the way he is right now. :)