Getting into the swing

Sacha is such  a good morning person. We put out the clothes he chooses the night before, and he gets dressed in no time. Louis needs a lot of chivvying to stop talking, and concentrate on the job in hand.
French is always spoken at table, of course, because otherwise, how could Papy understand what we are saying? They are learning words for different foods, and different ways of holding knives and forks. Baguette and butter are great hits, and so have to be rationed when there are other things to eat.
I have found a website giving the school meal menus : yesterday it was melon, goulash de dinde, riz créole, vache qui rit, cocktail de fruits.Today, it's a cheese pastry starter, followed by filet of fish in mustard sauce, sautéed carrots, fruit yoghourts and a peach.
Nick, the children's Dad, came today to take them to Spain for a wedding. He was able to come with us to pick them up from school.

Hello Papa

At the station

While Nick was greeting Sacha, I had a word with his teacher who told me that he had at last accepted to have a siesta, but  had  "played the clown! " She has the impression that he may be "a bit of a pickle!" Well, just fancy that.  But the good news is that he is settling in very well and joining in with the activities. I am so relieved that he is not suffering as he was on the first days. He still has a weep for his Mum just before he goes to sleep, but we can usually divert his attention before it becomes a full-blown howl. After the train had left, François and I went and had a nice cooling drink in the park (It is very hot today.) It will be a quiet weekend for us :  they are not due back until 7.30pm on Sunday.

New Routines

Breakfast was accompanied by a revision of Louis' "Excercise instructions : " he has to know how to say "read," "write, "  "underline," "put a ring round,"  "put a cross ," "put into order," "say if it's true or false," etc. Sacha joined in enthusiastically.  They have chosen their breakfast drinks :"café", ( hot milk and a dash of coffee from the cafetière) for Sacha,and "thé "( hot milk with a tea bag waved over it) for Louis. I will know in future that it has to be Earl Grey : Yorkshire tea or PG Tips just don't cut the mustard. Sorry Louis. Also,  the usual cereals,  without milk and with much crunching.

After meals, they are allowed to pump up their chairs to their highest level, where they perch like circus acrobats, and swivel round.

 François and I walked to get them from school this evening. At the moment, he drops us off in the mornings, which allows us all to spend a much-needed extra quarter of an hour in bed.. They don't think much of doing the 20- minute walk home, and grumble quite a bit.

Here they are, after school in the playground . When we got home, I had to spend quite a while with Louis revising what he had seen today in class. Sacha had a rest, then went into the garden to play football with Papy, and then to pick some raspberries. It is going to be a problem to do any reading with him,( how did I manage when mine were small?) and so when I see my neighbour's daughter I intend asking her to come in from time to time to help Louis while I see to Sacha.

Before supper we played Animal Lotto, in French, which was a great success . Amazingly, they won one game each.

The start of it all.

Caroline, Louis and Sacha arrived in Angers on September 2nd, 2011. Caroline was trailing an enormous suitcase, because Louis and Sacha are going to stay here until Christmas! She will come and visit them every other weekend, but during the week they will be going to school at St Agnès, about 20 minute's walk away. It was very hot, and we enjoyed a barbecue in the garden. Matthew and Lolita came round to join us.
The weekend was very busy, getting identity photos taken, marking names on all the school things (so much to pack into those new satchels!) and finding homes for all the clothes. Monday morning came round very quickly, and we arrived at school in plenty of time to have a word with the teachers. Sacha was very nervous, and a little tearful.

 Here he is with his teacher, Catherine Prieul:
The headmaster gave us a rousing talk, and the new foreign pupils were welcomed in English and Spanish! The school has several foreign pupils: there is an Australian family, a little Texan boy in Louis' class, a Brazilian family, and a Spanish family. The school is proud of its international status. Louis' teacher speaks fluent English and German, and Louis will be learning a few words of German this year.

Here is Louis with his teacher, Mme Bonnot.
Louis has taken to his new class like a duck to water, and Mme Bonnot says that he is a lovely child, very motivated to learn, and asking when there is something that he doesn't understand. Sacha is much less confident, and it will take him a little while to start enjoying himself, I'm afraid. But his teacher is lovely, and lets him join his brother from time to time when he is feeling tearful. That cheers him up immediately. They stay to school lunches: I don't know how much they eat, but they eat everything that I give them at home (except broccoli)

Today, Wednesday, there is no school. I went out to start queueing at 8 a.m.to sign them on at the swimming pool, and understood that I should have come half an hour earlier! The queue extended half way round the car park. I staggered home at 10a.m., after having managed to sign them on for Wednesday morning swimming lessons. But not in our local pool, there was only one space left. (Grrrrr.) We will have to go to a pool that is near the town centre. We did shopping in the morning, then in the afternoon took the new tram all the way to the terminus. Then we came back, and got off at the park where they had a good play in the playground. We walked home, over the railway line, and had snails for supper. And waffles. And oranges.  Between us, François and I got them showered, hair washed, and into bed, for the story.