Chameleons...all 3 of them!

We are so proud of these kids

I'll tell you, those first two weeks of school and life were hard, emotional, and tiring. I was ready to go home.

Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement--it kept me going long enough to ride out the tidal wave. We have now been in Sesimbra a month: OMG, whew, and YAY, things are so good!

The factor responsible for the 180 turn-around has been our kids' incredible adjustment to everything: school, language, apartment-living, schedule, food...Kids are crazy good at adapting. 

Jonty:
In all our planning, we figured Jonty was the biggest liability: academically and socially.  Being the oldest and thrown into Portuguese school at a grade 4 level (a big year here as its the last year of primary, with lots of pressure to get ready for a big move to middle school), we were counting on his "go with the flow" take on life (he gets it from Mark) and his remarkable ability to easily make friends.  He blew our expectations out of the water.  He likes school--he goes happily (I tell you, those delicious hot lunches get him out the door so quickly), and is always smiling at pick-up.  Whether at school, before/after school, or even around town on the weekend, kids are always coming up and saying "Ola Tiago" (his Portuguese name)--he's like a celebrity!  He just grins and gives a little wave--he is still shy speaking Portuguese, but he understands so much now.  He always has kids to play with at recess and the teacher has called me in to tell me how impressed she is with his progress.
And mommy breathes a huge sigh of relief.

Gabi:
We had no qualms about Gabi: she was entering in at ground 0 (kindergarten is not mandatory and kids often do this year at pre-school). Plus, kids are so sweet at this age! She is a social kid and a teacher pleaser, loves school, and has an inner confidence that gets her through tough spots. The first week of school she was amazing and gung-ho, skipping out the door early in the morning and walking happily through the school gate. Week 2 surprised us: she was clingy at drop off, and there were tears, which is not her. We quickly realized that between her lunch and her afternoon classes of music and gym, there was an hour break, and most kids went home.  Easy solution: I go and meet her for that hour now and we hang out--go for a snack, read at the library next door, play cards...
And our happy, skippy girl is back!

Catarina:
We didn't give much thought to Catarina's adaptation: poor third child!  Back in Canada, she was at an amazing home daycare--5 other children, in a calm household, with a routine she knew for 2 years, and lots of access to nature.  She is now in a centre, in a room with ~20 kids, 3-5 years old, a small paved outside space, and group meals with 60 kids in one eating area! On the first day, when I asked her about lunch, she just said: "it hurt my ears." That hurt my heart. So, no surprise that every day for 3 weeks involved tears, desperate clasping of our necks at drop off, constantly asking if I would pick her up, a fear of bedtime because of what the next day would bring, and even waking in the night crying that she did not want to go to school. Hello mommy-guilt: here I was, not working...But, go girl--this week she has not cried once, and heads out happily enough, and comes home saying "I had a wonderful day. I didn't cry.".
Thrown in the deep end, and she keeps swimming.

#proudmamma #kidsarestrong #we'regonnamakeit