Aw, I forgot to upload these photos to my blog, so, naturally, I completely spaced writing about it either. Just before ski vacation, Noah's kindergarten class had a Fasnacht party. Fasnacht is the Swiss word for Mardi Gras, Carneval, Fasching, and whatever else the country of your choice may call it. Of course, over time, it has completely lost most religious implications that it once had here, and is just another excuse to party it up!
Noah was very particular about costume he wanted to wear, and what extras I could, or could not, add to it. For example, I wasn't allowed to paint a mustache on him, nor would he wear an eye patch. But he was super excited to wear his hat and carry his sword around all day.
I was surprised to see no other parents when I arrived at the school. Apparently, a Fasnacht party isn't special enough to warrant parent observation. But I was glad I went. It was fun to see what a great time the kids were having, and it also made me appreciate how much effort and work his teacher puts in to making Kindergarten fun for him.
This is them playing "Bodehöckerlis", which is a combination of musical chairs and freeze tag. The teacher puts on some music, and the kids all dance around. When the music stops, you have to sit down on the ground. The last kid to sit down is out. They played at least two rounds of this, and then Frau Huber started the conga line.
The kids got to Walk.On.The.Table! How cool and exciting is that? And then, she let them walk over two different tables. So fun!
This is Spiro, the class dog.
He belongs to Frau Huber and comes to kindergarten with her every Monday and Tuesday. He has been coming since he was a tiny puppy. He is super good with the kids, and has never even so much as nipped at a single one in the 7 years he has been attending school. Noah was terrified of him at first, but quickly realized that a) Spiro eats dog food, not children, b) Spiro mostly hangs out on his dog bed in the corner of the room, and c), if you don't want to pet him, you don't have to. His teacher told us at Parent Conference that they get along fine, but it definitely isn't a great and deep love. :) Mostly they just stay out of each others way. Some kids, however, love to hang out and pet Spiro as often as possible. I would have LOVED a dog in my kindergarten, that's for sure.
I took this picture originally to show Frau Huber's cool costume, but am happy to see it also has a close up of some fun things from their classroom. To her left, is the birthday calendar. The birthday child is on the topmost red flower, the child whose birthday is next, is on the slightly lower flower, and the other kids are kind of floating around down the bottom. If you have already had your birthday, you are flying up in the sky. The figures are little mice with a picture of each child in the center. The kids each got to decorate their own. To the right are the two ways they are teaching the children the days of the week. Each day corresponds with a color on the rainbow. Then on the panel, e
ach day has pictures of whatever special event is taking place then. Noah just has to look up and know that tomorrow is show and tell, and on Friday they are going to have "znuni buffet" where everybody puts their snacks on a table, and shares with everyone else. You don't have to share you snack, but if you don't, you aren't allowed to taste anything anyone else brought either. I absolutely love Swiss Kindergarten. No homework, no pressure, just letting the kids learn in a fun, relaxed way and still have lots of time for being a kid and playing. Hurray!