Nadia to me: "Mommy, I think Israel is not for us."
She is implying that we should wrap up this experiment and return back to Boston. She has had hard time in the past two weeks, refusing to go to school, crying at separation, missing her US friends. Her teacher and the school director are very understanding and wrap her in love and attention during the meltdowns. She has a good class and supportive friends who sincerely care for her. Still, she clearly doesn't feel comfortable at the school yet.
Naor had recently snapped at her making us realize that she has been coming to him for consolation during class breaks in these first two weeks of school. Both of them had not mentioned this up until now and it makes us simultaneously happy of their connection yet sad that she suffers. We are surprised that it is especially hard for Nadia because she has a strong character and a friendly nature. She has started a full day daycare at the age of 15 months with a big smile and has been surrounded by friends ever since.
Now, the fast school pace and the excessive noise seem to take her out of this natural equilibrium. However, we believe that it is slowly getings better day after day. It seems that her will is taking control. Following the advice of her teacher, she has cut the school good bye to minimum sending me home as soon as she crosses the class door. She joined the school choir, yet is not always keen on going. A few days ago she surprised us with a set of masterful drawing (something that neither of our kids have been interested or good at before). We realize that this is a quiet escape for her during the hectic school breaks but trust that she will find a golden middle between being alone and playing with the friends.
We love the school yet there seems to be some lack of order that we used to in the US. Three weeks into a school year and one week before the holidays we still have not received the school-year calendar. The daily schedule has been changing in the first two weeks leading to the kids' confusion. There is a school website with forums for parent-teacher-kids communication and latest changes are usually posted there along with the homework but you have to login and check for this updates daily. There are ten various textbooks and same amount of workbooks as well as numerous folders that should be brought to school when the corresponding class is on. Confusingly some tex books are named differently than their subjects making it almost impossible to understand what needs to be packed daily. It seems to be specially hard for newcomers like us, although both kids mention that quite a few of their 11 year old and 8 year classmates cried in frustration during the first weeks.
Naor is much less sharing about his feelings. He seems to have found the way to be one of 'them' yet staying a careful outside observer. During recess he joins in on popular local games - POWs (שבויימ) and dodgeball (מחניימ). After school he admits to being occasionally overwhelmed and seeks solitude in his room.
There is something suspiciously surprising that we didn't have in our private elementary school in the US. Auditions! There is a school choir and a school dance troupe that are free yet require an entrance test. Never before have our kids been told that they can't be in because they lack the talent. Nadia got accepted to choir but not to the dance troupe. Naor didn't care to try.
Serendipitously I stumbled upon an interesting and relevant video on the New York Times website. A family of Times journalist from Brooklyn, NY, spent 5 years in Moscow, Russia, sending their three American kids to a Russian-speaking private school. The 10-minute clip shows the hard adaptation process of each of the kids, highlights the cultural differences between the schools, the friendships that kids made and the strength that they gained from this amazing experience. I shared this video with both of my kids and to my surprise each fascinatingly watched the video till the very end, remarking on the resemblance of this kids' experience to ours. The link to this video.
I am so fortunate to stay home for now, to have luxury of time and patience to observe and guide our kids through this school adjustment process. However, kids realization that I am watching over them undoubtedly makes them more fragile and dependent. Our bonus for now is that both kids enjoy spending time with us much more than before. Probably for not too long..
She is implying that we should wrap up this experiment and return back to Boston. She has had hard time in the past two weeks, refusing to go to school, crying at separation, missing her US friends. Her teacher and the school director are very understanding and wrap her in love and attention during the meltdowns. She has a good class and supportive friends who sincerely care for her. Still, she clearly doesn't feel comfortable at the school yet.
Naor had recently snapped at her making us realize that she has been coming to him for consolation during class breaks in these first two weeks of school. Both of them had not mentioned this up until now and it makes us simultaneously happy of their connection yet sad that she suffers. We are surprised that it is especially hard for Nadia because she has a strong character and a friendly nature. She has started a full day daycare at the age of 15 months with a big smile and has been surrounded by friends ever since.
Now, the fast school pace and the excessive noise seem to take her out of this natural equilibrium. However, we believe that it is slowly getings better day after day. It seems that her will is taking control. Following the advice of her teacher, she has cut the school good bye to minimum sending me home as soon as she crosses the class door. She joined the school choir, yet is not always keen on going. A few days ago she surprised us with a set of masterful drawing (something that neither of our kids have been interested or good at before). We realize that this is a quiet escape for her during the hectic school breaks but trust that she will find a golden middle between being alone and playing with the friends.
We love the school yet there seems to be some lack of order that we used to in the US. Three weeks into a school year and one week before the holidays we still have not received the school-year calendar. The daily schedule has been changing in the first two weeks leading to the kids' confusion. There is a school website with forums for parent-teacher-kids communication and latest changes are usually posted there along with the homework but you have to login and check for this updates daily. There are ten various textbooks and same amount of workbooks as well as numerous folders that should be brought to school when the corresponding class is on. Confusingly some tex books are named differently than their subjects making it almost impossible to understand what needs to be packed daily. It seems to be specially hard for newcomers like us, although both kids mention that quite a few of their 11 year old and 8 year classmates cried in frustration during the first weeks.
Naor is much less sharing about his feelings. He seems to have found the way to be one of 'them' yet staying a careful outside observer. During recess he joins in on popular local games - POWs (שבויימ) and dodgeball (מחניימ). After school he admits to being occasionally overwhelmed and seeks solitude in his room.
There is something suspiciously surprising that we didn't have in our private elementary school in the US. Auditions! There is a school choir and a school dance troupe that are free yet require an entrance test. Never before have our kids been told that they can't be in because they lack the talent. Nadia got accepted to choir but not to the dance troupe. Naor didn't care to try.
Serendipitously I stumbled upon an interesting and relevant video on the New York Times website. A family of Times journalist from Brooklyn, NY, spent 5 years in Moscow, Russia, sending their three American kids to a Russian-speaking private school. The 10-minute clip shows the hard adaptation process of each of the kids, highlights the cultural differences between the schools, the friendships that kids made and the strength that they gained from this amazing experience. I shared this video with both of my kids and to my surprise each fascinatingly watched the video till the very end, remarking on the resemblance of this kids' experience to ours. The link to this video.
I am so fortunate to stay home for now, to have luxury of time and patience to observe and guide our kids through this school adjustment process. However, kids realization that I am watching over them undoubtedly makes them more fragile and dependent. Our bonus for now is that both kids enjoy spending time with us much more than before. Probably for not too long..
great blog! While listening to NPR I heard an interview with this journalist and his wife about their experience in Moscow
ReplyDelete(http://www.npr.org/2011/10/03/141002461/u-s-couple-in-russia-sends-their-children-to-progressive-russian-school)