School Starting

Tim and Maddie are supposed to start school next week. All along, I have been thinking that they start next Thursday, the 4th. Why did I think that? Well, at the end of the school year last year, I got a school memo saying that school would resume on "Tuesday, September 4." The problem with this of course, is that Tuesday is the 2nd, not the 4th. But I assumed that they would be more likely to get the day of the week wrong rather than the date.

Yes, I know what assuming does....

Anyway, by the grace of God, Tim was invited over to a friend's house to play today. I asked the mother if school started next Thursday, and thankfully, she corrected me.

This leads me to another big difference in American vs. British schools. When Tim was getting ready for Kindergarten at Joppatowne last year, I received so many fliers in the mail last summer which included calendars, school supply lists, and forms to be filled out. I have not received one piece of paper from the school here... not even a first day reminder!

If I hadn't asked that mother today, I probably would have received a phone call on Tuesday asking if Tim and Maddie were attending school this year. Or worse yet, my kids would have started on the 3rd day of school!!

I guess it could be worse... My friends Brian and Victoria Chapman recently moved to the country of Jordan. They brought their son to school on the scheduled first day, which happened to coincide with Brian and Vic's first day of full-time language classes. They found the school to be under construction, with no definitive date as to when school would really start (and with no child-care for their son)!! So, I won't complain....