What did you do at school today?

This is the standard question to ask your kid after school each day.  And most of the time, very little information is actually shared.  Perhaps that is because they do so much that they can't think of anything in particular.  Also maybe because they are exhausted.

When I try to talk to Susanna about what she does at school, I mostly get the vague response, "we do a lot of work."  Last night I found out that she does in fact do a lot of work.  We had Parents' Night at school.  We sat in the classroom and listened to the teachers describe the things they do.  It sounds like a lot of time is spent sitting at their desks (two kids per table) following instructions being given to the class as a whole.  We didn't hear much about the kind of work they actually do, however.  The only thing on the wall was a collection of self-portraits.

They do have some free time during the week.  And they have P.E. twice a week, and they get some outside playtime in the morning and afternoon.  Her classroom is the smallest in the school, so there isn't much room to move around.  Last year the classroom was huge, but with young kids that is quite necessary.  The teachers this year let us know that expectations are much higher in Year 1, in terms of time spent sitting, listening to and following instructions, and being responsible for their own things.  They will also have a bit of homework each week, to get in the habit of doing homework.

So far Susanna is very happy there.  She has three very good friends in the class and is always excited to see them each day.  I'm hoping that the long days are a little easier this year since she's a bit older, but she's still little!  

I'm very happy to get the experience of a different school system.  I can't really compare it to the U.S. at this point since we hadn't yet started school there, but I do know that its quite different.