I’m feeling very envious and very connected, all at the same time. Appreciating the exposure to another way of doing things that sounds so…so…refreshing.
The reason they banned 4 colour pens is because the noise they collectively make when the whole class changes the colour is deafening and extremely annoying.
Your point of Americans digging in more when it's going slow is so true. I used to do this too when we moved to Europe. I can't believe they have you label every single item! I guess that would help here when our kids come home missing yet another item.
The missing-item problem is exactly what it solves, so I've made peace with the sharpie cramp 😂 Glad the dig-in point rang true, it's a hard habit to shake 😌
My kids went to a French school in the Caribbean. I know the French drill, which is not a drill but an exiting start of new beginnings. Happy September.
I so love your take on French customs. Having moved to the UK nearly 20 years ago with young children we didn't have to go through the whole shebangs of 'La rentrée' but it brought back memories of my maman doing 'les courses de la rentrée' with 5 kids, born within 7 years of each other, all having very different ideas of their 'sac d'école et trousse'. Thank you :)
Five kids in seven years, all with strong opinions about their trousse, your poor maman deserved a medal and a long lie-down. What a lovely memory. Thank you, Nathalie 😊
Mostly within France, actually, the beach or the countryside or the grandparents' place. I think it's less about far-flung travel and more about everyone stopping at once. Thank you for asking :)
The book list in Italy sounds even more intense, and costly, oof! But there's something to everyone doing it together, expensive as it is. Thank you, Lorraine!
The image of your mortgage application sitting in a folder wearing sunglasses 😂 La rentrée as France's real New Year is such a perfect way to put it. Loved this one!!
Before coming to France I had heard about August but I didn't really grasp it. It was out vacation and I wanted to explore and see some of the beautiful villages around us. I gave up after a day. The villages were empty. All was closed. It was so spooky! But where are the people though??! Certainly not on the roads either, travelling! Are they ALL at the beach??! :D
This was precious to read. It sounds so amazing and fun and ceremonial. We homeschool so my kids don't have a fun "back to school" type of experience. This seems like the way it should be. Also! I've heard rave reviews about french stationary. That its incredible and should be brought home on trips as souvenirs. Is that true? What stores do you recommend?
It really is true, the French take their stationery seriously. Look for Clairefontaine and Rhodia notebooks especially, and any papeterie or even a good supermarket might have the goods. Worth the suitcase space! And homeschool or not, you could absolutely build your own little rentrée ritual 😊 Thank you, Kelsey!
Really enjoyed reading this! You might want to consider the personalised name labels you can get for stationery, shoes, clothes and pretty much everything! When my daughter was at school in France she also had to take a sleeping bag and pillow for la sieste and everything had to be marked with her name. I found the iron on for clothes or special small stick on labels for stationery and bigger ones for shoes a real blessing! I put my phone number on too so if ever a shoe or coat or hat was left anywhere there was more chance of finding it again!
Hope it's all going well and they are settling happily back into their routine. x
Oh, I wish I'd planned ahead enough to do the labels before my sharpie marathon 😂 And the phone-number trick is brilliant for the lost-hat epidemic! Thank you so much, and they're happily back in the routine :)
Happy your mortgage was approved! Your chateau is amazing!
I love that your children received a school supply list. I am a retired teacher, and here in Ontario, Canada,🇨🇦 our Education Minister has made HUGE cutbacks. He has offered $750 to all classroom teachers to be spent at one store only, Staples, and that’s it. Anything they spend at other stores is up to them. The prices were increased in the last weeks at Staples, and teachers could not order anything until today, the First day of School!!!
Imagine trying to buy markers for a class or pencils and paper from Staples when they are much cheaper at other stores.
I have always been a fan of a “list” for supplies as it avoids the wild and extraneous supplies that are one, unnecessary and two do not fit in their backpacks. 🎒
Your education system looks at the children first, and that is where it begins!!💯🎒📚
Thank you, Mary Ann! And oof, the Staples-only situation sounds truly maddening, especially with the prices jacked up right before the deadline! Teachers deserve so much better than that. Thank you for all your years in the classroom 😊
I’m feeling very envious and very connected, all at the same time. Appreciating the exposure to another way of doing things that sounds so…so…refreshing.
Refreshing is exactly the word, and it took moving here for me to feel it. So glad it landed that way for you, David. Thank you :)
The reason they banned 4 colour pens is because the noise they collectively make when the whole class changes the colour is deafening and extremely annoying.
Ha, of course it's the clicking. Thirty kids changing colors at once, a special kind of torture. This is the lore I needed.
Your point of Americans digging in more when it's going slow is so true. I used to do this too when we moved to Europe. I can't believe they have you label every single item! I guess that would help here when our kids come home missing yet another item.
The missing-item problem is exactly what it solves, so I've made peace with the sharpie cramp 😂 Glad the dig-in point rang true, it's a hard habit to shake 😌
My kids went to a French school in the Caribbean. I know the French drill, which is not a drill but an exiting start of new beginnings. Happy September.
A French school in the Caribbean, what a combination! Then you know the lists intimately. Thank you Anne, and happy September to you!
I so love your take on French customs. Having moved to the UK nearly 20 years ago with young children we didn't have to go through the whole shebangs of 'La rentrée' but it brought back memories of my maman doing 'les courses de la rentrée' with 5 kids, born within 7 years of each other, all having very different ideas of their 'sac d'école et trousse'. Thank you :)
Five kids in seven years, all with strong opinions about their trousse, your poor maman deserved a medal and a long lie-down. What a lovely memory. Thank you, Nathalie 😊
That sounds lovely. But where do people go? Other countries?
Mostly within France, actually, the beach or the countryside or the grandparents' place. I think it's less about far-flung travel and more about everyone stopping at once. Thank you for asking :)
Haha! Love it and it feels like that is how it should be. It’s a similar situation in Italy with an enormous list of books - costly but expected.
The book list in Italy sounds even more intense, and costly, oof! But there's something to everyone doing it together, expensive as it is. Thank you, Lorraine!
How fun to read this while on the high speed train zooming through the French countryside. 🙂
Ha, reading about France while flying through it on a train, I love that. Have a wonderful trip!
The image of your mortgage application sitting in a folder wearing sunglasses 😂 La rentrée as France's real New Year is such a perfect way to put it. Loved this one!!
Ha, that folder really was living its best life on a beach somewhere. So glad the New Year comparison landed. Thank you, Olivia!
Before coming to France I had heard about August but I didn't really grasp it. It was out vacation and I wanted to explore and see some of the beautiful villages around us. I gave up after a day. The villages were empty. All was closed. It was so spooky! But where are the people though??! Certainly not on the roads either, travelling! Are they ALL at the beach??! :D
The "but WHERE is everyone" feeling is a real rite of passage! They really do all evaporate to the sea. Eerie the first time, then you join them ☺️
I think I am more French than I’d known….the entire month of August off sounds like heaven to me!
Honestly, wanting the month off is the most sensible instinct there is. You'd fit right in :) Thank you, Molly!
Oui, mon amie! Soldier on……..
This was precious to read. It sounds so amazing and fun and ceremonial. We homeschool so my kids don't have a fun "back to school" type of experience. This seems like the way it should be. Also! I've heard rave reviews about french stationary. That its incredible and should be brought home on trips as souvenirs. Is that true? What stores do you recommend?
It really is true, the French take their stationery seriously. Look for Clairefontaine and Rhodia notebooks especially, and any papeterie or even a good supermarket might have the goods. Worth the suitcase space! And homeschool or not, you could absolutely build your own little rentrée ritual 😊 Thank you, Kelsey!
Really enjoyed reading this! You might want to consider the personalised name labels you can get for stationery, shoes, clothes and pretty much everything! When my daughter was at school in France she also had to take a sleeping bag and pillow for la sieste and everything had to be marked with her name. I found the iron on for clothes or special small stick on labels for stationery and bigger ones for shoes a real blessing! I put my phone number on too so if ever a shoe or coat or hat was left anywhere there was more chance of finding it again!
Hope it's all going well and they are settling happily back into their routine. x
Oh, I wish I'd planned ahead enough to do the labels before my sharpie marathon 😂 And the phone-number trick is brilliant for the lost-hat epidemic! Thank you so much, and they're happily back in the routine :)
Next year you can have a go at the labels or when they next need new shoes or winter gear! Glad they are happily back in routine and doing well! x
Everybody Wants to Rule the World, by Tears for Fears
I’ve always thought A4 is a strange shape for paper. But that’s the American in me!! 🙄🤪😁
The A4-versus-Letter culture shock is real. Took me a while to stop feeling like my documents were the wrong shape 😂 You're not alone!
Happy your mortgage was approved! Your chateau is amazing!
I love that your children received a school supply list. I am a retired teacher, and here in Ontario, Canada,🇨🇦 our Education Minister has made HUGE cutbacks. He has offered $750 to all classroom teachers to be spent at one store only, Staples, and that’s it. Anything they spend at other stores is up to them. The prices were increased in the last weeks at Staples, and teachers could not order anything until today, the First day of School!!!
Imagine trying to buy markers for a class or pencils and paper from Staples when they are much cheaper at other stores.
I have always been a fan of a “list” for supplies as it avoids the wild and extraneous supplies that are one, unnecessary and two do not fit in their backpacks. 🎒
Your education system looks at the children first, and that is where it begins!!💯🎒📚
Thank you, Mary Ann! And oof, the Staples-only situation sounds truly maddening, especially with the prices jacked up right before the deadline! Teachers deserve so much better than that. Thank you for all your years in the classroom 😊