Off to KITA

Ben is at his first full morning of KITA (this is short for Kindertagesstätte: Children's Day Center) or preschool. He will be going 2 mornings a week. This a great way for all of us to culturally dive into Germany and German.

The first week, everyday he and I went in together and I would stay for a shorter amount of time (from an hour to 5 minutes) and he would stay later (from an hour to 3 hours). This process of acclimation is mandatory and a little rough. I was glad to not have to do it again today, instead sending George who just did a drop off.

Several things about the school that are different at least from when I went to preschool - he is provided with lunch and a 9 am snack and tea, his only responsibility is to play peacefully (and learn German), they have little red toilets (that Ben has successfully used) but he can still be in diapers, and after using the bathroom or eating the child washes his or her hands and wipes them with a provided cloth hand towel. There is 1 teacher for every 3-4 kids, kids of all ages are together in each group and the kids range in age from 2 months to 4 years. The building set up is similar to where my sister went to preschool: Ben will spend most of his time in one room, but there is an outside space next to the building, and there is an inside gym area, an art area and a music area (although the theme is quiet music not bang as many things as hard as you can). Also, the kids are sometimes taken to the park.

What is my worry? Just that Ben is a goofy kid - he makes a lot of word play or little kid puns especially if he is bored with the conversation and will tease you if you are being too serious. And the Germans are stoic and serious, especially about something important like kids' education and if they are adjusting. What cultural miscommunications may occur?

Last week, I suggested to an evening babysitter that if he whined too much ("Where's Mommy?") she could just ask him back teasingly ("Where is Mommy?" Usually he answers correctly and then you can go on, "Where is Ben? Where is Ben's nose?" etc). Not only was she shocked and appalled that I would make light of his suffering but I could tell she was worried about what other terrible tricks I used on Ben.

And finally, this is forcing us to buy Kinder Matschhose! Children's Waterproof pants! It seems like all German little kids have these crazy pants: suspenders attached to waterproof pants with extra knee and butt fabric (like a roofer's pants) and more elastic for under the feet (think '80s dance pants). They look ridiculous but are probably amazing and I cannot wait for ours to show up.