Jack started German kindergarten on October 1. In Germany, children attend kindergarten at ages 3-6, and then begin first grade. So kindergarten is more like a preschool. (And here is a photo of Aaron in front of his German kindergarten, about 15 minutes away from where we live now.)
I never had planned on putting a 3-year-old in preschool. But as the opportunity arose, I could see that it was necessary. For the past 7 months or so I've had serious problems with Jack pushing Lucas and taking toys away from him. This sounds like normal 3-year-old behavior, but it was severe. I could never leave them in the same room together, and I mean never. While the two kids were at home together and awake, Jack was constantly picking on Lucas, and then I was constantly getting mad at Jack. There was really a lot of contention at home, and I had no idea what to do. Plus, Jack gets bored. We don't have a car, nor a yard with grass. So all we can do is walk to the store or the playground, and even that gets old. Jack was in serious need of a change and something to do, so I decided to go ahead and enroll him in the local kindergarten.
The kindergarten is a 5-10 minute walk from our home (if it were not walking distance we could not do it). He goes for a half day in the mornings. I am very thankful to live in Germany right now because this kindergarten opportunity was presented. I know I would not have sought out a preschool for Jack if we were in America. In addition, the American ones can be expensive, and the German ones are reasonably priced because they are subsidized by the government. This seems to be just the thing our family needs, so I'm optimistic that Jack will mature a bit and things will improve at home.
Some of you may find the sign on the right amusing. Zoom in.
On the first day, Jack was a bit shy about beginning. Lucas, however, made himself right at home. Aaron and I were standing in the hallway with Jack, and we turned and looked into a nearby classroom to see the image on the left below.
Yesterday I was trying to help Jack get situated in his classroom. I turn for what seemed like a second and Lucas had disappeared. I started running through the halls of the school looking in every room. I found him sitting at a table in one of the classrooms with a bunch of other children. He's not shy!
This is Lucas splashing in a puddle outside the kindergarten.
12 comments:
That is great! I hope that Jack has fun in Kindergarten. That must be really stressful to have him going after Lucas so much. I hope that improves, for your sanity's sake!
That's awesome that you found something to keep Jack busy. Hopefully that solves your problem!
Lucas is too cute.
Good luck to Jack! I hope he has a great time at kindergarten and that Lucas and you get a little peace at home. :)
P.S. The sign with the big steamin' pile cracks me up. I have often thought that a blog post devoted to "bizarre signs of Europe" could be great.
My kids and I really liked the German kindergarten when we lived there. They had fun, learned the German language and culture and they also learned some cool children's songs that I still remember. I think this should help Jack quite a lot, and you too!
I saw you mention this on FB and I was wondering when you would blog about it! I have put all my 3-year-olds in preschool -- even with a grassy yard and a car, it gets challenging to entertain them all day (though I can't imagine living without those things, you are one amazing Mom)! I love preschool -- it's nice to have a break to get stuff done around the house or run errands without as many kids to worry about. I think it'll be a neat experience for Jack -- Mike still talks about his recollections of German kindergarten. Enjoy!
Lucas totally cracks me up!
I wish we had such a program in the states! It is quite expensive here. what a cute puddle jumper!
The other good possibility here is that Jack will find some playmates. Given the very limited vocabularies of 3 year olds, he should quickly learn to communicate with them in German. Mike and Aleks were pretty fluent after about 6 months in kindergarten.
But there were also some problems and conflicts at first when they didn't know the language. Those will pass; just be patient.
Learning to play with his peers may also temper his behavior toward his brother. Hopefully, anyway.
Awe Lucas is so cute. I love splashing in puddles. I'm glad Jack has the opportunity to go to preschool. I hope it will help him.
Just been catching up. Your boys are so darn cute, I can't stand it. And where did you get your awesome stroller? I want one!
I love Lucas!
That will be fun for Jack. Is he learning to speak German as well as English?
P.S. That sign is hysterically funny!
If it were here some kid would hi-jack it to hang on the wall in his room :-D
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