Back to school 2015

In the elevator, on our way for our first day of school!

Starting back to school this year was so different than in years past, for several different reasons.  First of all, we have changed schools again, and this school does books differently than any of the other schools we have attended.

Here in Spain, we have to buy our kids' school books at a local bookstore and bring them in to the school at the beginning of the year.  Usually, at the end of the year, the teachers give out the book list and material supplies list for the following year.  You can choose wherever you want to buy your books.  You can go into the big Wal-mart type store and order them from there, or you can go to one of the many little local bookstores in your neighborhood. 

When we lived in Cáceres, we were quite spoiled.  There was a little bookstore across the street from the school (right below the apartment that we lived in our first year.)  For all of our years in Cáceres, we always bought our books there. We had built a relationship with the ladies there from our very first week in Spain, when we walked into their store speaking absolutely NO Spanish but needing to buy books for our three boys, halfway through the school year.  We were bumbling fools, having no idea what we were doing; but they were sweet and gracious.  They helped us through everything.  We would order the books at the end of the school year, and they would call us in the fall when the books came in.  We would go in and pay for the books, confirming our list with each book for each child.  As we went through every book, they would make individual piles for each of our kids... eventually including Carolina, when she started school at 3yrs old.  Every year, it got a little bit easier.  We knew the routine.  We knew the people... and eventually, we knew the language.

Then we moved to Valencia.  It was such a different experience.  Again, we got the list of books needed.  We went to one of the local bookstores and ordered them.  I'm not sure if it's Valencia or this specific bookstore, but CHAOS is the only word to describe the rest of our experience.  I do realize that we have 4 children, and that is not normal for most Spaniards, but still... this bookstore was a mess!... no organization whatsoever when it came to ordering school books!  They would not call us when our kids' books were in.  We couldn't call them, because they never answered their phone.  We had to stop in every day to see if the books had arrived... and wait in a long line, just to ask if the books were in.  When our books finally did arrive, they were all stored on shelves in the middle of the bookstore... none were put together in an "order."  So when we arrived, they had to spend time searching for and collecting every book on our list.  This is where 4 kids made it SO complicated.  Then you throw in an extra language (all the books can be ordered in Spanish or in Valenciano, so we had to make sure we were getting the right language, in addition to the right book) and it was even more complicated. 

Once the lady helping us got all of our books put together, she calculated the amount in her head and put the total into the cash register.  I wasn't quite ok with that.  I wanted a list of books and how much each one cost, which is what we had always gotten in the past.  She was not happy with this, but eventually did it for me.  I was glad I asked for it; because in the end, her total was wrong. Only half of our books had come in, so we had days of going in and waiting in line at this bookstore.  They also got several of our books wrong, so we had to exchange some.  It was crazy.  We eventually cancelled the rest of our order and went to another bookstore.  It was so incredibly stressful!

 At this new school,  2 parents from AMPA (which is kind of the equivalent of PTA, I guess) were chosen from each class to order all the books for each class, and any parents who wanted to participate could choose to do so.  When we registered the kids, we chose to participate; so they ordered the books for us.  We paid them on the spot, and they said they would call us when the books came in.  They arrived a week later, and we went to the school to pick them up.  No lines, no waiting.  Since all the books were the same for each class, there were no wrong books ordered.  There were two books that hadn't come in yet; but when school started this year, AMPA delivered them straight to our kids' classes.  Incredible!  I know that must sound funny, but Wes and I were in awe of how easy it was this year!  Praise the Lord for that!  I'm ALL FOR easy! :)  In a culture where nothing ever feels easy, we were very thankful.

on our way!...

Jonathan and Carolina go to the national public school about 7 minutes walking distance from our house (...and that includes the elevator ride down from the 8th floor!) We love how close it is.

Even though books were easy at this school, our first day was a little bit rough.  Carolina did great.  I walked her up to her line, and her teacher grabbed her hand.  She was smiling and happy.

Poor Jonathan, on the other hand... it was disastrous!  I walked him to the front of his line to introduce him to his teacher.  We hadn't had the chance to meet her before, like we had Carolina's.  I told her that it was Jonathan's first day.  She looked at me and said, "White?" I nodded, smiling... completely unaware of what was coming.  She looked at me, without smiling, and told me no... he wasn't in her class.  He was in the Spanish tract.  I was slightly confused at first.  I think I was taken off guard by how rude she was.  I explained that no, we had chosen to put Jonathan in the Valenciano tract (our main reason being that there were only 16 in that class as opposed to 27 in the other class... that's a big difference!... and math class was the only class that was changed.  In the Spanish tract everything is the same, except they teach math class in Spanish.)  Anyway, she snapped at me saying lots of not-so-nice thing and finally stated that he was in the other class and that he was NOT coming into her classroom.  She refused to let him get in line. 

Poor Jonathan was standing right there the whole time.  It made absolutely no sense to me.  There was no reason for her to have been so short and unkind.  Jonathan started crying... that's how nasty she was being. 

As the bell rang and the kids started to file into the school, the secretary came up to us and told us we would go in and look at the paperwork.  At this point, Jonathan was clinging to me and begging NOT to be put into that lady's class.  We went in and talked to the secretary.  She wasn't entirely sure what to do, so I suggested that Jonathan go into the Spanish class (since he didn't WANT to be in the Valenciano class at this point...), and see how the day went.  I asked if we could change him to that class if he liked it.  She thought it was a good idea.  She also said it would give her time to look at the paperwork and see what needed to be done.  She was brand new to the job, so she was as unfamiliar with things as I was.

Poor Jonathan was crying and had to be pried away from us and taken to his class.  As you can imagine, my heart was breaking.   He just kept begging to go back to his old school; and at this point, I was almost inclined to let him! 

Halfway through the morning, the secretary called me. She had looked at her paperwork and said they had made a mistake.  He was supposed to be in the Valenciano tract, but he was on the list for the Spanish tract. She told me that because he was registered completely correctly and it was simply that his name was on the wrong list, he would have to go into that Valenciano class.  Yikes.  It was recess at that time; and she said that after recess, he would be transferred to the Valenciano class.  I asked her if there was any way to change him to the Spanish class if we wanted to.  She said no.  He had to stay in the Valenciano class.  So... I was about sick to my stomach all morning.  I prayed and prayed for my little boy!

Thankfully, for the month of September, we only have half days of school because of the heat in the afternoons.  We picked them up at 1pm, anxiously waiting for a glimpse of Jonathan's face.  I knew I would know what kind of day he had, if I could just see his face.  Jonathan came out from his class smiling, so I thought that was a good sign.  His teacher wouldn't even look at us.  She wouldn't make eye contact or talk to us for days!  People keep telling me it's because she felt bad for how she handled the situation.  I sure hope so! 

We decided to go out to eat together at a nearby cafe to celebrate the first day of school.  We thought Jonathan might need a pick-me-up after his crazy, emotional day. :)

 

As we sat at lunch, we asked Jonathan all about his day.  He said the Spanish tract teacher was nice, but the Valenciano tract teacher was nice, too.  I was so relieved to hear that! He had made a lot of friends in the Spanish class; but he said that it was quieter in the Valenciano class, since there were less kids.  He seemed completely at ease.  I was SO thankful; because the whole morning, my heart was hurting for his.   I had prayed my heart out the entire time! 

The next several days went well, and he is now very happy in this class.  He has made a lot of friends; and his teacher seems to like Jonathan, so that helps.  We did find out that she retires in December (which everyone says is why she acted like she did... she's ready to go.  She doesn't much care about being there), so please be praying for the new teacher that will come!  Pray he/she is kind and is a good teacher.  Jonathan will have this teacher for the rest of 5th grade and all of 6th grade.

Carolina made friends right away.  From day one, she was so happy with her teacher and her class.  Praise the Lord!  I wake up every day, thanking the Lord that both the kids are happy and excited to go to school each day.

Weston and Nathan's first day of school was very interesting! :)  They didn't have to get up early, and they didn't even really have to get dressed! haha... we didn't have to buy any books, and they are certainly happy with their teachers! :)  We started Liberty Online for both of them this year.  Those first couple weeks were pretty challenging.  Learning in English for the first time is not easy!!!  Nathan struggled just to pronounce his spelling words, let alone spell them! 'Emancipation Proclamation' is not an easy word! :)  It's still not easy for them, but we are getting the hang of it.  They have both enjoyed it a lot.  The content is completely different than what they've learned before... Nathan is learning all about Creation in science.  He kept thinking it was Bible class. :) 

We celebrated their first day with a Napolitana!... one of our favorite treats, here in Spain!  It's like a croissant on the outside and it's filled with dark chocolate on the inside.  Yum! 

We are SO thankful for how well the start of this school year has gone. Thank you to all who were praying!   We are about a month into school, and things are still going well.  Pray for God's continued grace!