kazzuk

We have been here almost 11 weeks now and I have just started to recognise a telemarketers call. At first I would listen to the first sentence and then say "can I stop you there" only for the caller to continue, it was only then that I would realise that it was a recorded message. Got me quite a few times, but everytime I had a good laugh at myself for trying to reason with a recorded message. Iv'e joined the do not call list, so hopefully when that kicks in, the calls will stop.

By the way, we are adjusting very well, our eldest daughter (11) started school yesterday and really enjoyed herself - 3 hours homework a night will take some getting used to though!!

Our youngest daughter (5) proudly announced today that she had learnt a new word - "farded". I will leave the translation to your imagination.

ladyofthelake

My daughter had a nightmare experience on her first day at school in the US. The day itself went fine, the problems occurred when it was time to go home. You see, she started during the middle of term, and the teacher forgot that my daughter was new, so she was just left to take herself to the bus. My daughter was only 6 at the time and had no idea where to go or which bus to get on. Thankfully she had some savvy to ask some one else what to do, but by the time she got to the correct place the bus had already left.
I was out of my mind :scared: with worry when the bus turned up and she was nowhere to be seen. Luckily whilst we were talking to the bus driver, trying to work out where she could be, a teacher pulled up in her car with our daughter. What a relief!! I know teachers are held in high esteem here and people wont here a bad thing said about them, but that first teacher really was crap. Thank God she only went to that school for 6 weeks before moving to her permanant school.

ScarlettHill

Schools...

I took my kids on the public bus the first day of school (January). I picked them up in the afternoon in a panic about how they'd got on (though we'd deliberately rented an apartment in the catchment area for the best elementary in Dallas). They were cool as cucumbers (6 and 8 at the time, now 7 and 8). Hunting for them and expecting to find them weeping in corners I had to drag them away from chatting to their new mates as they pointed out which kids they wanted to invite round to their place.

I had told them I would take them and pick them up every day on the public bus till they felt safe about the school bus (we don't have a car) and on that first day we sussed out together exactly what you do about the school buses so they would know exactly what to do and where to go. They went on the bus from day 2 and never looked back. I was stunned - they went from schools of about 100 kids to one of more than 700, one of them jumped ahead a year and the other was moved to an accelerated class after 3 days. I was quite prepared for teething problems but there didn't seem to be any! I'm still waiting!

They've never had a bad word to say about the school though I have to admit we've been lucky - it is a really great place if a little OTT on the old patriotism. They go back Monday into second and fourth grade and are starting after-school club for the first time. I'm pretty nervous about that because it's such a lot of hours to be out but we'll see how it goes. We have little choice here because I need to work. But we explained that if they want cool stuff from time to time that's gotta happen. If they hate it they can have potatoes every night and I'll work part-time, I guess. But I doubt that'll happen - after school club means you get to hang out with your friends and we plan quality family time for when we all get home each night. Food and games and stories.

Yes the homework is phenomenal after an English school. But I found the kids quickly get used to what the other kids are doing and don't find much unusual about it. The girls seemed ahead of most kids their age here and yet the kids here are made to work much harder, which I can't understand really. But hey, everybody's happy and that's the main thing.

I think it helped that the girls and I visited the school and met their teachers in advance of them starting. Lizzy even got to play at recess with her soon-to-be classmates. So when they went they knew what they were doing and where they were going. Took the sting off, I think.

Joy, the older, pretty much talks like a Texan after just 8 months - arrrrgh! but it was bound to happen. Lizzy's sticking with being English, she tells me with a twang. My experience of the school system here so far has been very positive but I guess like anywhere in the world there are good and bad schools and good and bad teachers. I found it pays here to get to know the school a bit. A lot of stuff is different - like having to buy school supplies for one! But the resouces are huge in comparison to a lot of Brit schools. Joy wrote a song for her music project and the music teacher made her a demo tape in his own time just for the fun of it.

Don't forget to send a plant or something on teacher appreciation day, librarian's day etc. Apple for the teacher still goes on here - I got my mum to bring over personalised Easter eggs from Thorntons for the teachers and bus driver at Easter. If they know you your kids definitely seem to get a better deal. Not sure it's right that it should be like that but I'm a mum so I put the politics of the thing second and pay my dues

Regards
-=-
Scarlett

dunroving

My friend's son had a horrible first teacher, she was a really nasty piece of work. He was just miserable, but wouldn't talk about why. Eventually (I mean after a whole semester), he told his M & D that his teacher was always shouting at him. Well, it so happened that their daughter had the same teacher her first year, but had never said anything. They asked her, "Did Miss X always shout at you, too?" "Oh, yes", she replied. "Why didn't you tell us?" they asked.

"I thought that teachers were supposed to shout at us".

Easy to forget that when they start school, our kids really have no idea what is "normal".

ladyofthelake

Yep, know what you mean there! My daughter is now 8, has been here for 19 months, and speaks completely differently now. In fact if she tries to speak in a british accent she sounds as bad as the Americans!