First Day of Gan!!

Took the kids to Gan when it opened at 7:30am...yes-- that's 7:30am!
Rich started Ulpan today, so he came with to drop everyone off and then left straight from there to Ulpan. It was cute watching the three of them marching off to school with their backpacks (see pic). We were a little nervous sending newly toilet-trained Amitai to his first day, not speaking Hebrew and not familiar with his surroundings. We sent about 3 changes of clothing in his backpack, along with my cell phone number (we were expecting the worst). All was good, though. He ran to the bathroom as soon as we came home.
They both walked in to their classrooms with very little apparent nervousness. Both sets of teachers immediately made them feel comfortable with their huge welcomes and hugs. Even the guard sitting outside at the entrances was smiling big and greeting everyone enthusiastically. Ami's class size is HUGE, but when I picked him up, every single kid was sitting at the tables quietly eating snacks. Gali's class seems smaller and bit more relaxed (probably because of the small size). Both came out smiling and happy and that was good enough for me.
They were let out at 10...tomorrow will be at 11 and then it will be regular dismissal time. I heard that you send a sandwich and fruit for "aruchat eser" (10 o'clock meal), but because of the early dismissal, I sent a few biscuits and a plum. Would they really need a sandwhich before I picked them up at 10am?? Apparently yes. Every one of the kids in Ami's class had huge meals spread out in front of them from home. On our way home Gali reported that her morah told her that she needed to bring a sandwhich tomorrow. Silly Americans, we are.
Aside from the language, I think both of the kids found their classes familiar, with similar decorations and set-ups as in the States. One huge difference, though: Security. The Gans are in the same building, but each have different entrances from outside. Each entrance has a huge iron gate in front that is open for drop off time and pick-up time, but is locked in between. The armed guard outside holds the key to the locks and he sits in between the gates the whole day. Honestly, it feels pretty good knowing how secure it is. I always felt a little uncomfortable in the States, sending my kids to wide-open schools where anyone could walk right in. I was always seeing people just hanging out, leaning against the building where Gali was in school, or taking shortcuts right through the school's grass, cutting in the middle of gym classes. It freaked me out. It felt good seeing that guard today.
Now we're home, waiting for Abba's return. Kids are itching to play some computer games, so until next time...