The Pumpkin Patch

The week before Halloween, Claire and I went with my friend and her daughter to a nearby pumpkin patch. We needed some pumpkins for carving, decorating, and eating (no canned pumpkin in Switzerland!), so a pumpkin patch was the way to go.

Up the mountain and into the fog we drove to the self-service pumpkin patch.

The pumpkins were all laid out in groups under a tent.

Each group of pumpkins had a sign next to it saying what kind of pumpkin it was and if it was to be used for cooking or for decoration.  If it was a pumpkin for cooking, the sign said what kinds of dishes that particular pumpkin would be good for.  I had no idea there were so many different varieties of pumpkins!  

Claire took her time inspecting the pumpkins.

She and her friend eventually found the perfect ones.  

No Swiss activity would be complete without a cow sighting.  

Because it was a self-service place, when it came time to pay for the pumpkins, we weighed the pumpkins ourselves, did the math, and deposited the correct amount of money into a box.  I was grateful that my friend had thought to bring change because if not, I would have had to leave a 50 franc bill for my 12 francs worth of pumpkins!    

After our fun day at the pumpkin patch, I am sure that my pumpkin pie will taste extra delicious this year, even if I will still wish for canned pumpkin!

School

Claire had her first day of (all French!) pre-school last week Friday.  The way they do it here is that the kids gradually stay longer and longer at school according to how they're doing.  So the first day, the teacher called about one hour after Gordon and I dropped her off and said that Claire had had enough.  When we dropped her off, she happily waved to us and said good-bye, but her teacher said she started crying 15 minutes later and did not stop until we came back to get her.  I was so nervous that she wouldn't ever want to go back!

On Tuesday of this week, I brought her back for her second day (she will go Tuesday and Friday mornings for 3 hours each) and again, she happily waved and said good-bye when I left.  Again, she started crying a few minutes after we left and then stopped crying about 40 minutes later, which was 10 minutes before I arrived to collect her.  I was happy that she had stopped crying this time before I got there.  

Claire's teacher said that I should bring her on Thursday, which is not a normally scheduled day for Claire, because the class is only 3 other kids and Claire might do better with a smaller group.  So I brought her again and she reluctantly said good-bye to me.  This time, the teacher said I should call in an hour and a half and see how Claire was doing and if she was doing fine, I should leave her for the full 3 hours.  I called as planned and got the good news that Claire had cried for 30 minutes, but then she calmed down and started to play and even began to smile and laugh with the teacher and the other kids.  When I arrived to pick her up, she was happy to see me, but did not want to leave the school!  It took me about 20 minutes to get her out of there.  

This morning, I took her to school again and I was a bit nervous because she would be in the bigger group of 8 kids, which might be overwhelming for her.  When I left her there this morning, it was the first time she cried as I was leaving, rather than crying after I had already left.  It broke my heart to walk away from her crying face, but I knew she would be okay.  I called the teacher about an hour later and she said that Claire had cried for less than 2 minutes and then enjoyed the rest of morning and participated in the activities.  The teacher even said that Claire said something in French today!  The teacher couldn't remember what it was, but when we left and the teacher said "Salut, Claire," Claire said "Salut, Anne" instead of saying "bye bye" like she had before.  She seems very willing to try to say French words now that she has started school, whereas before, she was very hesitant to say them.  I'm pretty sure she will be speaking more French than Gordon in a matter of months!  I am so happy today and so very proud of my big girl.

I took a bunch of pictures of Claire on the first day, outside the school, and this is the best of the pitiful bunch.  She was way too excited to pose for a decent picture.