Bright Greens: De Waterkant Croissant

In exactly 4 weeks, Bateman starts school. 5 days per week. My stomach turns. I don't know how I'll separate from him for 5 days each week! I think he'll probably adjust much faster than I will. We took a field trip to his school this morning just to show him what it looks like and to play in the playground there. As we were getting closer, Bateman's face was illuminated and he said "De Waterkant is really cool!" He just can't wait.
De Waterkant (The Waterfront) is the name of his new school, which gets its name from being at the intersection of two canals. When we first received our results from the school lottery and told Bateman he was going to De Waterkant, he thought it sounded like De Croissant. So that's what he calls it sometimes. It's a Dutch public school and in the school system here, children start school the day they turn 4, even if it's the middle of the school year. Each public school here seems to have different methodologies. This school follows the Dalton method of education which originated in the U.S. This method focuses on having the children develop initiative and self-reliance. To help foster this, the students are given choices each day of how to spend certain blocks of time and then they later use a system to reflect on how they learned during that time.
I met with the director a few weeks ago to discuss Bateman's enrollment. I was a little afraid that she would only speak to me in Dutch or she would recommend that I be proficient in Dutch by March 1 if I want my child to attend this school. I mean, we're sending our child to school in another language. Perhaps we should know something. I was relieved that the director spoke to me in English and she encouraged me to just continue building our native language at home and they would do the rest at school. Woohoo! That relieved some pressure. It's not that I don't want to learn it or that I don't try at all. I'm just a beginner, at best. Of course, we can always change the schooling situation if it doesn't work out for whatever reason. Richard Carey and I just think it would be great for his little brain cells to be worked in this way at his age, and it's a great way to meet other families and get more involved in the local culture.
We found out that his teacher's name is Anna-Marija, which is such a God gift to have his first teacher's name be the same as his godmother Anne Marie. His classroom is filled with fun hands-on activities, including a costume corner which will be the place he lands any time he's given free time, I'm sure. There's an indoor gym with mats and beams and sports equipment. It looks so great. I just have to learn to let go a little, you know? Only four more weeks, then I'll be baking croissants, of course, before his first day of school!