Well…we made it back… Back in America, and while it seems all a blur, it’s been a couple of weeks now…
We took our time saying good-bye, and took our time to get here…Instead of the plane, we took the slow boat, literally…across the ocean.
Everything seems new right now and between the daily scramble to set up life anew, school anew and friends anew for our tot. We miss our old life in Denmark but are working through it and excited for what’s to come. But there have been good laughs and good times and good adventures.
Here is to the next step – good morning, America!
PS – Here we are a the ship pulls into the port of Brooklyn. Our tot is clutching a little Rasmus Klump doll, her last souvenir from Denmark. Our last few months she really got into Rasmus Klump, a Danish animated news strip and then cartoon from years ago that all children seem to know, and one of the things that is not really translated or exported into English, so I couldn’t be much part of it. But I was part of it enough to know she loved it and to know that he was a sailor. We didn’t have nearly enough time to get through all the little souvenirs I wanted to get her before leaving, but I did go out of my way one day after work to find this doll that she mentioned she wanted. He was her trusting boat companion, and in some ways, a bridge between the old and the new.
Hi! Meredith from Hamburg here. I am interested in the Kindergarten that your daughter is now going to in DC. Is it a local public school? I ask because I know that outside time and free time are important to you and my sister (who is a teacher in north Carolina) just told me last week that in her school recess continues to be cut in favor of more instructional time. This year the 2nd graders in her school only have 15 minutes of recess and that includes walking to and from the playground and that the kindergartners only have 20 minutes at the very end of the day. So that means that the school is expecting kindergartners to sit in and attend to structured activities from 8:00 to after 2:00 each day. Is this just specific to her school or is this widespread? Were you able to find a school in the U.S. that fits more with the Danish philosophy of how young kids learn?
Hi Meredith (and Hamburg- what a great city! We visited while we were in Copenhagen!). So let’s see, yes, we chose a local public school and I’ll have a post soon once the dust from our move settles as to why and how we chose it. But it is a local DC school and it is public. However, our school is pretty good about protecting recess – they get a 40 minute block outside every day on the playground, plus a PE class (which for now has been outside) twice a week for an hour I think, and then there are some play blocks built into their day where they let them vote if they prefer to be inside or outside (kids usually vote inside btw). Our school goes through 5th grade and i know the recess policy is same for everyone (just that there is some sequencing from younger to older in terms of who goes out when, but timing is same). So I can only speak for how it is in our school but we’ve been pleasantly surprised. I should also note that we have a ton of very active parent advocates, as well as a fair amount of european kids that are in mix b/c of various embassies here in DC as well, and a lot of long-tenured teachers who also believe in breaks and play and such so I think this all feeds into that protection of the time…