Lucas' first day at 3 year old Kinder. 1st Sept 2008

Well it's been a long time since I've made a blog entry, things have been a little out of control with 2 under 2. Life is about to change as Lucas started 3 year old kinder today. Mind you he's not 3 but the school year starts in Sept and if we didn't start him now he'd have to wait until Sept next year. Hmmm I don't think I could handle another winter stuck indoors with 2 little kids again. At least if I just have Remy we can get out and about but with the 2 of them it's a battle.

Lucas is finally becoming a little boy; he has pushed me to my limits for the past year while he had his personal battle of becoming an independent two year old. Taming him was a challenge and even the neighbours commented that he had good screaming ability. The screaming was a killer, but finally the fire is being put out, Lucas is chilling! Phew!....and now Remy is firing up...I just want to cry!

Lucas has become very helpful of late, in fact he'll tell you that he can do it. His English is great, he really concentrates and thinks about putting sentences together. When he has messy hands he says "I'd better go wash my hands, I'll be back in a minute." My favourite is when he's at the dinner table and he doesn't want to eat his dinner he'll say " I'll just have to go for a little bit" ....never to be seen back at the table again.

Today he told Remy to eat at the table when she was walking around the house eating a biscuit leaving a trail of crumbs (As she does.) If you are telling him something that he doesn't want to listen to he'll says. "Shhhh... you had better be quiet people are sleeping". So many times lately I've heard him repeat things that I always say to him. It's so embarassing at times especially when he quotes things I say to Remy or other kids. For example he said to Remy the other day "I'm sick of it" He got that quote from listening to me nag Lou the other day. OOps!

Lou and I walked Lucas to school this morning we were ready at 8:30 and the school is a only 5 minute walk way. Lucas managed to pull all of his tricks out of his hat and turned the trip into a 25 minute event.
First he wouldn't take of his house shoes off and put on his sneakers. (The kids wear house shoes in the class room. These shoes are not allowed to be worn out side. It's an Austrian thing.)
I tried to take a photo of Lucas and Louie walking to school but Lucas would be apart of it and went and hid in a store door way.

When we got to the school his room was being renovated so they relocated to another room down stairs which was easy for all the German speaker who read the sign on the way in but not for us.

Lucas is going to a catholic school around the corner from our house called Notre Dame. It's a lovely school and it has a massive garden the size of a football field. None of the other kinders in the 7th district have a garden a 1/4 of the size of this one. Lucas has 18 in his class, his teachers name is Uschi, she is lovely, she's speaks a little English which is good for Lucas since it's a German speaking class and me. Uschi has a lovely kind and gentled natured helper called Elizabeth.

He'll go to kinder from 9-12. the group actually runs from 9-2pm but that's too much for him. The group runs for 5 days a week which I think is a little to much but they don't have part time. He doesn't have to go every day, I thought he might go 3 days a week, I'll leave it up to him I'm not going to make him go. We are sending him so he can get some boy friends, learn German, and get him out of the house on those dull winter days.

View from in the garden looking back at the school. It's a very big school I think it has at least 400 kids it has kid up to the age of 10. The garden is divided up into six different area's for the different age groups of kids. Lucas' group is the first group to go to the garden each morning at 10am, it's so peaceful.

Here is Lucas escaping from the creche area in the garden, he wasn't supposed to be in there in the first place. He nicked off from his group to come over and sit with me. Tomorrow the parents have been told that they can't sit in the garden while we wait. Darn it. The parents have to hang around for the first couple of mornings until the kids settle in.

Lucas was the only kid who left early today, he nicked off from the group at 10:30 and came to and said that he wanted to go home. He was happy but very tired, he has been ill for the past 2 weeks which has left him weakened. Just as we were about to go home he pooed his pant. Great no wonder he came over. Lucas never does poo in the morning! I suppose the poor kid didn't know where to go.

When we got home at 11:30 (after I did a couple of jobs) he fell asleep on the couch and slept for 3 hours. I gave him a bowl of pasta for his 3pm late lunch, and he gobbled the whole bowl and then demanded another bowl. So I gave him another which he gobbled up as well.

Below are more photos of the school yard.