I know, I know. My posting schedule has been nothing short of pathetic, lately. In my defense, life was moving at such a fast pace, it was all I could do to keep up with the back of the pack, much less pull forward into the lead. 🙂 But thankfully, I have a few days of peace and quiet, where I can actually clean the house, and get caught up on fun, but still important things, like this blog. (Also, I told myself I can’t start my Christmas cards until this thing is caught up, so there you go! )
Four days after we returned from America, the kids started back to school. Sarah now has Nick’s former teacher, Sophie stayed the same, and Noah now is in first grade with Sarah’s former teacher. It helped the transition be a lot less scary, that he already knew Frau Nicollier, and had constantly heard how nice she was for 3 years from Sarah.
Still, 1st grade is a lot different than Kindergarten. You actually have to sit at desks, there are new kids, and you have homework. You also get a cool pencil holder to put on your desk, decorated by your mom. 
Yes, it has become a matter of pride with me, that my kid’s box always looks the coolest. 🙂
Half of the kids were with Noah in Kindergarten for the past two years. The other half were in the other kindergarten. Aren’t they all so cute?
It is a small class, only 16 kids, so they get a lot of attention from their teacher. And there is an aide that comes in and works with the kids on a one-on-one basis as well. Yeah, I really love my kids’ school!
These are Noah’s best friends,Noel, Loris and Yahel. 
They are always together, and often play together at each other’s houses, as well. Strange little trivia, Sophie also has a Yael, pronounced the same way, in her class, but it’s a girl! That was confusing at first.
Circle time is where the teacher explains new concepts and subjects. They also sometimes get to act a bit silly, at least on the first day. 🙂 All the parents were allowed to hang out until the big recess at 10. But Alexandra and I stayed for that as well, so we could see the girls and find out how their day was going.
Oddly enough, Nick’s school didn’t start until Tuesday, so he was able to stay home and relax for one more day. Chris rode the bus, train, bus, and walked with him, so he would learn the right stops, and not get lost. But no parents were invited to stay. He just had to drop him off and walk away! Aauugghh! But it seemed to go alright, and over two months later, he has adjusted to all the changes and is doing quite well academically. Whew!