First day of schule

Zoë and Annie started school last Monday. Here they are heading off to school at the crack of dawn.

They are going to a public school here and are in a special class which is meant to teach German to newcomers to Switzerland. This is a bit like ESOL at Belle Sherman, but instead of being mixed into a regular class the newcomers have their own class. Zoë and Annie have five other kids in their class, 2 from the States, 2 from Spain, and 1 from Finland.

Much of their week is spent studying German. The rest is focused on math and social studies or science. For gym they have "turnen," which is like gymnastics, and then they have swimming once a week. They also have a music/art component and something called "handarbeit" or handwork, which is knitting or woodworking or beading.

So far they are really enjoying the experience.

Here they are rubbing the baby lion's nose for good luck on the first day--this statue is right next to the playground at school.