Appearance aside, they all had a very good first day back at school. In fact, the reason they all look impatient-slash-irritated is that they were so eager to be off and were not gladly suffering my insistence that they stop and pose for a picture. Really.

Yrsa had no trouble at all being at pre-school on her own. As soon as she was in the door she flung off her shoes and jacket, barely taking time to toss a perfunctory, “Bye, Mom” in my direction as she ran in to join the other kids. When I picked her up later in the day, she was in the same good cheer and the teachers said she hadn’t been at all bothered by not having Brynja there.

As for Brynja, I stayed with her at school for the first hour or so (that’s the norm here — some parents stay all day). She joined in circle time and introduced herself when prompted and had no problem following directions. I think I worry more about her Swedish than I probably should; it’s really only her spoken Swedish that’s a bit behind and she’s understood the language fine for years. When we went outside for the first recess she was a little uncertain about what to do, but once I secured a vacant swing for her she said it was okay for me to go home. After school she could hardly stop talking about her day, telling me, “School was really fun!”

Petra and Tage reported that their days went well also, and their transitions to higher grades seem to have gone off with nary a hitch. Petra was especially excited about starting wood shop this year, and Tage was pleased to learn that he’d gotten Spanish as his language choice. French had been at the top of the list, but apparently there were too few students interested for the school to offer it, so he got his second choice. I don’t think he had a strong preference for either language over the other, but he was relieved not to have gotten German. I’m not sure what his objection there was, but I don’t mind because my French and Spanish, minimal though they might be, are miles ahead of my all-but-non-existent German skills, so I’ll be able to be of some help to him there.

Lydia had a good week, too, but she’s not nearly as forthcoming with details as her younger siblings are. So far, though, the new school/program seems like a much better fit than where she’d been for the previous two years. She’s already made a new friend or two, and she’s pleased with the lunches (which will continue to be free until she’s 20, thank goodness. I’d been a bit worried about that at the new school, as 65 crowns — 10 bucks — is a pretty steep price tag for a daily lunch).

Otherwise, not much to report of the week that was. That feels like a very good thing.