Joy School

Rachel started Joy School today. She was so excited! She has been talking about being able to go to school for quite some time now. As we walk to one of Rachel's favorite parks we walk right past a Dutch school. She loves to see the kids outside playing or hear the school bell ring. At first she would talk about how she would go to that school when she turns 5, but I've told her she's going to go to a different school in Texas. So, whenever we walk by the school we have a conversation about the school in Texas she'll go to. Technically I could put her in Dutch preschool here, but I don't see the point of her learning Dutch since we are headed home at the end of the school year. E&Y won't foot the bill for the International School until Rachel's 4 and I'm not paying thousands of dollars on my own for preschool. So, Joy School is going to be a wonderful alternative. Next school year, in Texas, she can go to a preschool to get ready for the full-day kindergarten she'll have when she's 5. Rachel has two classmates, Ashley and Hannah. They have already had lots of time playing together, so they are quite comfortable with one another. The mothers are going to take turns each week teaching the children. Rachel will have school every Wednesday and Friday for roughly 2 hours. I got to be a fly on the wall today. Miss Lisa, Hannah's mother, was the teacher today, but it was hosted at our house. It was fun to watch Rachel interact with her peers. I'm looking forward to what the year has in store for Rachel! Here she is all excited for her first day:

Rachel's first school art project: