I recently came across an article indicating some scientific findings that expressive writing leads to a heathier life - especially in regard to mental health. After reviewing the article and reflecting on the fact that this frazzled mommy needs all the mental health benefits possible, I decided it's high time to get back to my blog.

I really do enjoy writing. I love being able to express my thoughts in an organized manner, that tells a story, and helps me make the mundane, stressful, or not so entertaining parts of life a little more... entertaining. It helps me see things from 'outside of the box.' It's as if, when I sit down and write about things that are going on, I am reexamining my life from a totally different perspective. It's a good thing. So I was not surprised to read that expressive writing is actually linked to improved mental health. More than anything - it was a kick in the pants to start writing again.

So why has it been three months since I've written anything? Well... life happens. During the last few months, we have gotten more settled in, and the regular busy-ness of life has also settled in. Believe it or not, even when you're living a 'dream life' in the beautiful city of Vienna, the typical business of work, family issues, discipline struggles, homework, and the neverending mommyhood chores still exist! I suppose I have gotten bogged down with the constant flurry of our 'regular' life, that I have failed to make extra time to sit down and write about it...

So I suppose today I will write about the one thing that has actually afforded me this kid-free time right now to sit down and add to my blog. That is, that the little boys started attending Kindergarten! After a long search and checking out many, many kindergartens, and being super wishy washy about the whole notion of sending my two youngest to someplace other than their toyroom, and after many prayers, and a small miracle, we found a great fit. The boys began at a public (German speaking) Kindergarten that is just around the corner from our house on Jauary 7th. It has taken some adjustment, and a few days of warming up - but I think it is safe to say now that I love it, and the boys love it - so it's a win-win!

"Are you sure about this, Mom?"

Their kindergarten class conists of about 20 children from the ages of 3-6, and three very, very sweet female teachers. (The fact that Tyler does not turn three until February, and the director of the school was able to talk the city magistrate into letting him go ahead and begin with his older brother, and closest buddy was the small miracle that I mentioned.)

In case you're interested, here is what the boys' kindergarten schedule looks like:

Around 8am, we walk a 5-minute walk to the kindergarten.

When we arrive, I help the boys get unbundled, and change their shoes. All school children here wear houseshoes while inside the classrooms. My kids wear crocs.

From 8-9am they have free play time. Tyler loves the train set. Tucker really likes the magnetic building blocks.

At 9am the kids are served "Frühstück" or breakfast. Since my kids eat breakfast at 7am, this is a perfect "snacktime" for them. The children are invited about 6 at a time to come to the breakfast table, where they get their own (glass) plate and cup and silverware, and are encouraged to properly set it on their placemat. Then they help themselves to the food that is on the table - usually consisting of a variety of breads, fruit, vegtables, meat and cheese slices. Also there are miniature glass pitchers of milk, juice and water that the kids are expected to pour themselves. When they are finished, they take their dishes to the dish cart and clean up after themselves. It's amazing to see how independant these little ones are. My boys are learning quickly.

After breakfast, the teacher reads stories, sings songs, or leads the kids in some motion activities. Some of the kids color pictures.

Around 10:30 it's time to go out. Each week, the class goes on at least one field trip to a museum, park, ice skating rink, the zoo, the cinema, or any number of interesting things to see around the city. They all get bundled up, and these brave teachers take out 20 little kids, hand-in-hand by twos, out into the city on public transportation to fun places all over the city. My boys were sick last week, when the class went to a hand-puppet theater. I was sad they missed it. I am super excited for my littles to experience Vienna this way. I'm also looking forward to learning about all kinds of new things to go and do and see with my other kids.

Notice how nice and neat the children walk two by two in a straight line... Then notice my two in the back... still trying to get the hang of it and often veering off the path... all in time, I guess.

On Thursdays at 10am, the kids go to a nearby highschool gym, where they have a reserved time slot to use the facility. I went with the boys the first time and got to see what it's like. Gyms here are equipped with all kinds of cool stuff. Giant climbing ropes hang from the ceiling, ladders on the walls, blance beams, spring boards, landing mats, crawl-through tubes, cones, balls, and everything that you need to make awesome movement activities for kids.
After walking to the gym, the kids get changed out of their street clothes and into their gym clothes. They all take off their Strumpfhose (thick waist to toe tights that ALL kids (expect mine) wear under their trousers in the winter here.) They all change into simple stretchy pants, a tshirt or tank top, and go barefoot to the gym. When I was there, there was one boy that had forgotten his gym clothes. He was wearing strumpfhose and ski pants to school that day (very typical for Austrian kids to wear skipants to school). And since neither of those would be suitable for gym time, he simply went to the gym in his underpants. No one even blinked. Gym time in your underware? No big deal!
The class began gym time by sitting around in a circle and singing some fun songs with actions motions. They the teachers prepared some fun relay activities for them. Between each activity they ran around the gym, each time enacting a different animal. Lastly they created a giant obstacle course with the massive supply of cool stuff there, and the kids took turns going through it. It looked so fun, that I wanted to do it!
My boys sat on the sidelines and observed the first time to the gym, I figured they needed some time to get an idea of what this was all about... but they have since joined in and love it.

Just in the last couple weeks of kindergarten, there have been at least three birthdays as well. Those are always special days in the class. They all circle around and the teacher plays the guitar and they sing about 6 different birthday songs (including "Happy Birthday" in English which is very common here). The kids get way into it and sing and dance and clap. They light REAL (gasp!) candles on a puffed pastry, and the birthday kid gets to blow it out. The birthday kid also gets a small gift from the teacher. The whole party takes a good 30 minutes of time, and the kids obviously have a blast.

Around 11:00 every day, the kids get bundled up again and head out to the playground. It is a huge playground with a giant tube slide, a huge hammock swing, a giant sand pit equipped with every digging tool possible, and a giant (adult-sized) playhouse. The boys love the playground. One of the best parts about it is the dozens of sturdy ride on toys and trikes that are there and the big, smooth space they have to ride around. They never want to leave when it's time to go. :)
At noon, they head back to the classroom, and the kids who stay for the full day are served a hot lunch. Since we opted for half-day kindergarten, I pick my boys up at noon and we have lunch at home. However, I must say that I am thoroughly impressed with the food I have seen (and smelled) being served there.

If you didn't notice, there wasn't any part of the kindergarten schedule that is set aside for structured academic lessons. There is none of that there. The Austrian mentality is that at this age, the kids learn best through play and experiences. So they allow lots of opportunities for learning through a variety of play options and fieldtrips. While I agree with this philosophy to an extent and I see that the kids are truly learning - I still make sure to teach the boys colors, numbers, shapes, and reading at home. :)

So - overall the kindergarten report is - So far, so good. The boys are having a good time, making new friends, and learning a little bit of German. (How could they not, right?). And while at times I feel sad that they are spending their mornings away from me (and that's just... wierd!) I realize that they are growing and learning and experiencing new things - and that's a good thing. And as I write this, I am realizing that for the first time in nine years, I now have regular, uninterrupted, kid-free time most week days! How cool is that?! Now, that's not to say that I don't still have gobs of laundry to do, cluttered corners to clean out, a stack of ironing, floors to clean, and dirty dishes in the sink. There will always be other chores calling my name, but for now, I'm choosing to take a mental health break. :)
I sure love these boys!