Ribbons Undone

Quinnie’s school always has a themed “end of the school year party” right before summer break for the students and their families. The kids are very involved in planning the party with their teachers and parents- months of preparation go into it.

This year the theme was “Handwerker” (Crafts People). It was amazing. Every classroom was dedicated to a different profession that works with their hands. I didn’t realize how cool it would be, so I’d only brought my iPhone. Actually, I would have felt like a jerk breaking out my big camera because it was SO CROWDED- but it would have been worth it, because these pics just don’t do it justice. Oh well- lesson learned!

One room had a Bakery where the kids could make bread from scratch.

grinding flour for bread

Quinnie and friends mixing ingredients

Finished product. They were delicious!

A room all about Stamping

They are carving/making homemade stamps out of potatoes!

Potato stamp Art!

weaving on a wheel

Learning how circuits work

Learning about different kinds of plants. If you could guess what 5 of the plants were you got to take one home!

wool felting

Making Art with photo-sensitive paper (results below)!

Quinnie’s favorite was making Flip-Flops from scratch!

Quinnie and Irma excited about their Flip-Flops

the finished product

Hair Stylist station. The popular thing here was to get “crazy hair”- spiky and crazy neon colored temporary spray.

There was a whole floor dedicated to food which was all provided by the parents. The amount of food was incredible. I only got 2 pics though because it was so crowded I couldn’t even turn around…

Kiera collected the food flags. She’s very into flags right now since they’ve been learning at school about different countries having different flags.

Jewelry making

purse making/sewing

handmade purse

We missed the Flute concert (lots of students take lessons at school), as well as a dance show that was performed by some of the students.

They had a room dedicated to carpentry. Both of the girls had a blast there, but Kiera LOVED it. She spent most of the party there. I am sad to say that they were the only girls in that room every time we were there (which was a lot).

Kiera spent hours just hammering nails into wood over and over..

You would think she’s eventually get bored- but no. They pretty much had to kick us out when the party was over!

My little Handwerkerin!

I looked out the window and saw that some kids had gotten a Fußball game going..

It was an amazing party- can’t wait to see what the theme is next year! We LOVE this school!!

At the end of every school year, all of the classrooms on Quinnie’s floor at school go on a camping trip together in Mandersheid (about a 90 minute drive outside Köln). Families/ siblings are also invited, but the students usually camp together in their own tents.

Simon and Kiera went with Quinnie, while I stayed home. This was my first opportunity to have more than half a day of “alone time” in almost two years, so I jumped at the chance. I had three relaxing, restorative days to myself. I was able to read two whole books uninterrupted! It was blissful, but I still missed my girls. After seeing the photos Simon took at Mandersheid though, I think I may have to go next year. Simon called the place Kinder Paradise. The girls had a BLAST.

arriving at Mandersheid

Tents for the students

Quinnie’s tent (she actually slept in a few different tents as more and more of her friends arrived).

Simon and Kiera’s hut

inside the hut

The ping pong table was a BIG hit- especially with Kiera, who asked to play numerous times a day. Check out that Teepee behind the cabin!

Can you tell that Papa didn’t brush their hair once the whole 3 days?!

Lots of beautiful hiking trails…

You can tell Mama wasn’t on this trip- Papa let them wear their pajamas all day (despite my careful packing of the perfect camping clothes!). The pajamas were black by the time they came home- absolutely filthy. Also notice- no socks with their shoes on their hike. And yes- they got blisters!

tire swing in the middle of the woods

The kids named this hill Todesschlucht (Death Canyon), and had fun running down it over and over again.

cool playgrounds

Quinnie and her friends

Simon said one of the coolest things about this place was that you could just let your kids run free and not worry because it was a safe, enclosed environment, and everybody was watching out for each others kids.

That’s Quinnie in the background whittling a branch (and Kiera collecting leaves and branches).

The kids were THRILLED about all of the camp fires!

That’s bread dough wrapped around the tops of those sticks.

Somebody brought a bag of marshmallows to toast and Kiera was in heaven. They’re hard to find here and she’s really missed them.

camp fire-roasted chicken

There was a Dining Hall for simple meals.

That’s cousin Maxim in line (in front of Quinnie).

Simon said that at night the parents stayed up late to watch World Cup games, drink wine and beer, and sing songs around the campfire.

There was a farm there that made their own ice cream (with the help of those cows you see in the pasture behind the girls).

The farmer was really nice and let the kids climb on his hay bales and hang out with his animals.

The whole group went on a four hour hike through the woods that ended at some medieval ruins.

Rest stops..

Quinnie and Julia taking a break

view of Manderscheid below

Tante Ruth and Quinnie taking in the view (on the bench). I love that Quinnie and Kiera have walking sticks (lol!).

Finally there!!

Tante Ruth and Maxim from above

Kiera exploring the ruins

At the end of the hike they headed into town for some ice cream (and climbing!).

finally tired out!

Can you guess what flavor ice cream Kiera had (lol!)? I’m going with chocolate…

The next day there was a swimming trip to the nearby lake planned, but Simon and the girls came home early because Quinnie had a fever.

I was happy to give her LOTS of Mama cuddles. We also read books for 6 hours (no joke!). I think we read most of the books on these bookshelves (below).

What a great experience for the kids! I love Quinnie’s school (and so does she). The next post is about her school as well…

Special shout out to Papa for taking some great pics (and for bringing our girls back alive)!

End of The School Year “Handwerker” Party

Camping at Mandersheid