Spontaneous Skate

At Oberlin, Vinnie’s class is awarded marbles for good behaviour.  Her elementary school in Princeton has a similar incentive program for students. Once the jar is filled, the class gets something special. At Riverside, a popular prize is pajama day. Sometimes we’d hear about sweets or pizza as rewards.

Vinnie’s class filled their marble jar last week. On Sunday afternoon, we received an email that the class’s reward was an ice skating trip the next day. No permission forms and pleas for chaperones weeks in advance. The school just took the kids on a fun outing for three hours during the school day. The only requests were that the children be properly dressed and nourished. Thankfully, Vinnie already had a snowsuit.

She had a great time. Sometimes we get bogged down with the language barrier. Thom hates having to type out the directions of his homework into Google translate everyday. It hasn’t been easy for my American kids to go to school in Germany. But, once in awhile, there are happy surprises.