Starting Their School Years

Yesterday, Sara and I celebrated my friends’ son grade school start. This is a Very Big Production in Germany. It begins weeks back. The kindergartens put on special farewell parties and then the children go off on their outdoor sleep over. Today celebration took six hours: three hours of celebration starting at the Luebecker Cathedral with a special mass, then celebrations in the school auditorium with a performance by a grade two class welcoming all the grade ones into their school, a party on the school playgrounds with homemade cakes and warm beverages and juices, and then a lovely, long, luxurious and tasty lunch back at my friends’ home.

To think that wasn’t all! I missed the special breakfast before the mass. I also didn’t see Frederick open up the slew of presents he was given, since I was in the kitchen delightfully cutting up all sorts of stuff for the buffet.

All in all it was a very fine day.


My favourite part was looking at the performance of The Rainbow Fish musical by the grade two children. They sang, danced, and recited wonderfully. Three fine adult musicians also accompanied the children on piano, flute, and cello.

The teacher who directed the performance was the grade school teacher for both my children. They have a system where the children have the same teacher for the four years of grade school, and since Julien is four years older than Sara, they both had the same teacher. So, knowing the teacher for eight years, I was suave to a few of her directorial tricks.

The moment the children started singing their first song, one girl dressed up as a fish, whipped out a small container of soap bubbles and walked from one side of the stage to another blowing soap bubble from behind the singing students. I broke out laughing and turned to my friend and said, voila there is a child that can’t hold a tune if her life depended on it. Then came a group of non-descript-costumed boys (coral reef), who had to crouch down in front of the stage. They were the class ruffians who couldn’t be trusted not to stick out their legs and trip the others during their dance routine.

Brilliant. That woman should be given a medal for ingenuity and diplomacy.