Jen's reflections on Hazel starting school.
Hazel started first grade this week. Although she's attending JFKS, a public American-German school, there are many things that are still decidedly German.
At the end of her first week of school, we attend "Mappenfest" — a backpack celebration. All of the first graders sat in a circle around their backpacks and sang songs, some about their backpacks, for 20 minutes. It was pretty cute. You might notice in the picture that the backpacks are a very particular kind here. The most popular brand is Ergobag, which runs 200-300 euro. We knew nothing about the importance of backpacks, but we new Hazel needed a new bag for school. A family leaving the IBZ was selling a bunch of their stuff and I was lucky enough to pick up an Ergobag for 15 euro. I didn't know the cultural importance of what I was buying at the time, but upon seeing all those bags lined up at Mappenfest, I was relieved I didn't send Hazel to Mappenfest with her American bag.
Here's Hazel on her first day taking the bus to school. Parents of kids who are too young to take public transport on their own can contract with a private bus company. The school day for first and second graders is from 8am to 1pm. Hazel is in "Late Birds" an afterschool program that keeps her until 4pm, when the last private bus runs. There's a later option for working parents, Hort, but no bus. We live about one hour round-trip on public transport from Hazel's school, so Late Birds it is.
We're adjusting to what a "snack" is. We were instructed that we had to send our kid to school with a healthy snack for 10:40 snack and recess time. I foolishly packed a banana and some multi-grain cheerios. Hazel relayed that she was not to be sent to school with cereal, but a sandwich. Apparently a healthy snack is a turkey sandwich and some fruit. I thought that was lunch.
Twice a week Hazel has religion class. Parents can opt into several choices: Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, or World Views (or study hall if parents want to opt out entirely). We selected Hazel into World Views, which is for students, or more accurately their parents, "interested in ethical and philosophical questions from a non-religious perspective." The curriculum is designed by the German Humanist Society and is centered on "reason, freedom, worldliness, equality, belonging to nature, and connectedness." Sounds pretty ideal for a first grader.