Klaipedos Licejus

Dylan and Katie on Sept. 1

As many of you know, we were VERY undecided on how to handle school for our time here in Lithuania. Our two options were to home school or to enroll the kids in a private school where the instruction was in Lithuanian. Katie was most interested in immersion while Dylan was advocating for home school. We decided to postpone decision making until we arrived in country and had a chance to visit the school and speak with the directors. During our second week here we visited the school.The school was named Universa Via but just got a new name Klaipedos Licejus (I understand this is due to their high standards - it's like the school got a promotion). Dylan shocked us by saying that he wanted to give school a try. We are so proud of their bravery! The kids were a bit disgruntled when they heard about what grades they would be in... Lithuanian children don't start their formal education until they are 7 years old. So their grades don't match up with our grades in the states. Additionally the directors thought that they should not push them ahead because even the math system is very different here. So Katie will be in the 5th form and Dylan in the 3rd. They are with kids who are only about 1 year younger than they are so it's not too bad. They will also have the option to advance when they have progressed with Lithuanian.                                                                                  

The Opening Celebration

School in Lithuania begins on September 1. This year September 1 fell on a Saturday so that day marked the official opening of school. It was an interesting day. Our school held their opening at the neighboring Catholic Church. All the student wear their uniform (of course only Dylan's uniform was ready-we thought he looked great but you can imagine that he didn't love it). The students also bring flowers for their teacher. Thankfully we were told of this tradition so we came prepared. The new first graders we walked in to the church by the older students, there was a short program and mass followed by a celebration at the school.

Ruta and Katie

Katie was fortunate enough to have a girl in her class, Ruta, who lived in Minnesota until she was 6. Her English is excellent and she has been great at helping Katie navigate a new environment. The first day of classes fell on Sept. 3 - this was also a special day - A day of health in the summer. Katie's class walked to a park and then went bowling. Dylan's class went to the movies.

September 4 - the first real day of classes was not such a great day for my kids. They both felt overwhelmed by all the new things, by not knowing the language etc. When I picked them up they were so tired, scared, overwhelmed. I questioned if we were doing the right thing.

September 5 - Day 2 of classes - both had a MUCH better day. They began their private Lithuanian lessons and that was helpful. They also had a bit more confidence. They were full of stories about their day and it all was good. I was so relieved (as I'm sure they were too. It's not going to be easy but having a good day was such a blessing (we came home and celebrated with some popcorn!

Apart from school we have been having some other adventures. We took a ferry to the Curonian Spit and hung out at the Baltic Sea (I can't wait for next summer to fully appreciate living on the coast).

Dylan had fun interfering with my shot of Katie in her sand fort!

Katie and her sand fort.

Our family dipping our toes in the Baltic Sea.

A beautiful sunset.

Dylan and the god of the sea.

 Without a car food shopping becomes much more of a chore. I only buy what I can carry. I make many more trips to the store than I am used to making. One day I woke up with a craving for bagels. I have become quite familiar with what I can and can't get at our local Iki (the name of the local grocery store) and bagels are certainly not available. So thanks to the Internet I made my own bagels. Everyone liked them, unfortunately the recipe only made 8. So they were gone much too quickly. I suspect that I have more bagel making in my future (I may have to find a hiding place for them if I want to have any left for me to eat).



 

I'm happy to say that things are going well so far. Ken has taught his first class and has been very busy at the University. I have been holding down the fort at home, volunteering in the library, taking a Lithuanian language class, and shopping for food/school supplies etc. Katie and Dylan are busy with school. They amaze me every day with their courage, strength and resilience. I'm a very lucky mom.