A Katie update, and away for the weekend, and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

A number of people have asked how Katie is doing, if the adjustment to life in Japan is going any better for her.

The short answer is: YES!

And here is the longer answer. The change happened about a week after the Halloween party. It was a Wednesday, and the dropoff at school went particularly poorly that day. Both Kate and Liv were reluctant to go to school (Wednesdays are often hard, as they have been away from school since almost a week before), both were hesitant to go into the classroom, and both needed to be held by the two teachers as I watched from the windows. One teacher had Kate on her lap as she played the piano, and the other had Liv on her lap as she led the good morning songs.

That was it, I thought. It was too much to ask of Kate and Liv, and we should probably pull them from school. I talked to John after his class, and he talked to the HGU person who talks to the preschool (nice, direct lines of communication, don`t you think?), and they started the ball rolling to pull the girls out of school. Not only did they seem unhappy, but it looked like they were demanding SO much of the teachers.

So, when I went to pick them up that day, I was expecting everyone to be sad, but instead, Katie came running out, laughing and telling me about the day. Livie was right behind her, a big smile on her face. The teacher said they had a great day.

We got an email that night from the HGU person saying they had talked to the girls` main teacher after school, and that she said the girls had a wonderful day. When the HGU person brought up our concern about them needing so much attention, and to be held for so long, and that we were worried we were keeping them from the other kids, they teacher was baffled.`Of course 3 year olds cry when their mothers leave. All 3 year olds do. They have just started preschool for the first time. Why wouldn`t they be sad to see their mothers leave and need to be held?`

And that is why, she explained, the school put them in a class with mostly 4 year olds who have been at school a year. Apparently, 4 year olds aren`t expected to cry when their mothers leave, and that would free up the teachers to take care of our needy girls, who would have regular 3 year old separation anxiety coupled with the stress of the Japanese language. They said they would be happy to hold the girls all day long if that`s what they needed.

That was certainly reassuring. And the next morning, both girls were so excited for school. They have been each school day since then (and Jack literally SKIPS to school). If anything, it`s been Liv who has been a bit reluctant to go this last week -- I think she`s been a bit sicker than Kate, and missed two days of school when Kate went alone. But there are no more tears, no more clinging to my legs when we get there... just excitement. And the teacher has started taking pictures of them throughout the day, playing with other kids, doing projects, eating lunch, etc. -- looking very much pleased to be there.

And their classmates seem to love them. When Kate and Liv show up, if John is with me, I go into their classroom first to hang up their coats and all of the kids run up to me asking `Katie-chan? Katie-chan? Olivia-chan?`I point to my shoes and say they are with their dad, putting on their inside shoes. They run to the door and hold Kate and Liv`s hands as they walk in. It`s amazing.

The other thing that has been amazing is how few stomach bugs we all have gotten this fall compared to most falls -- and John pointed out that it`s probably because all the kids at school (and our own kids) are washing their hands ALL THE TIME. It`s just a part of their routine, and each kid brings her own towel to school each day to dry hands... such a good system.

Jack loves his class as well, although he has been having a few problems with one of the bigger boys. The mom told me in English that her son thinks Jack is his best friend. And he is always eager to see him. But Jack seems nervous around him, and I asked him what he thought of that boy. He said he`s sometimes so nice, and sometimes mean. Tomoko said her son has had the same problems. Today Jack said that the bigger boy knocked down another kids`tower, and then said Jack did it. Jack tried to explain that he didn`t, but the other kid didn`t understand. These kind of situations happen even when kids speak the same language, of course, but it`s hard for us, as parents, to see. At Jack`s request, we are going to talk to the HGU person to talk to Jack`s teacher to let her know of our concerns.

But even with this one boy, it`s clear Jack is loving preschool here. They play SO much -- build and color and sing and dance. Perhaps the Japanese schools do more structured work in Grade One, and Jack missed the cutoff for that by just two months (kids have to turn 6 by April 1 to go to first grade). And I think the play is just what he needs. We are keeping up with some of the French -- he is writing in his journal in French most nights, and we aren`t too far behind on some of the assignments the teacher gave us. And except for brief moments of worry, we are pretty sure he`ll catch up once he is back in his French immersion class.

So those are the school updates. We`re heading out of town again for the weekend -- back to Jozankei View Hotel for waterslides and hot springs from Friday-Sunday (you can see pictures of it by clicking here). We wanted to make one more trip while we were here, and John and I discussed going to places that were maybe culturally or historically more interesting. But once we realized that the kids would be with us no matter how well we planned, we thought that this would be the place to go. They love it there, and so do we.

Well, these kids need to go to bed, so I should sign off. Happy Thanksgiving!!