Friday, January 27, 2012

Small signs we are not in America

Somehow January is a slow month for this blog, no matter what the venue.  The children are in a routine of now-familiar school days and local discoveries / travel on weekends.  The weather has been quite pleasant, save for a few foggy  days, we had tons of sunshine and blue skies. I have been silent for a while and have a few posts to catch up on.  In the meantime: some small everyday observations:


Wine bottle apron: corrupted toddlers?
 This handsome wine bottle apron was handmade by Small Fish at preschool.  It was her Christmas present for her Dad.  So cute!  For me she made an equally cute kitchen towel decorated with her own hand prints.  This is all so very cute, right?

Yes it is.  It is adorable indeed.  But there is a greater lesson in all this.  It is funny what things stand out to one when living abroad.  It got me thinking: I just can't imagine this happening at an American preschool.  The wine apron, that is.

Inevitably there would be that parent (or two) who would be outraged that toddlers are creating craft works with a purpose that serves, or aids wine consumption.  These parents would no doubt be vocal and would make sure such a thing as this never happened again.

 I love it.  It is a beautiful wine bottle apron.  And I am glad to be a part of this community where no one bats an eye that school teaches children that wine - this historically and culturally significant and enjoyable drink - is a part of life.

Now onto a more funny school project, and this one is also from Small Fish.  What would you think Swiss preschoolers cut out of paper?  What paper doll would decorate the mantel at home?  Yodeling Heidi?  Alphorn Julian?

No, Small Fish came home with an ice fishing Eskimo Girl.  The irony doesn't escape me.  We had to move to Switzerland to make one of these.  Still, very cute.

Swiss Miss


Small Fish is thriving, learning new words and growing bigger every day.  The wine apron she made, I suspect, will be a treasured kitchen item for years to come.  I raise my glass to common sense and to a society where knee-jerk overreactions are not the norm.




And here she is, the artist herself.  Small Fish came home with face paint from preschool the other day (super cute).

Sweet Small Fish 









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