June 27, 2017: Arabelle's 6ème graduation

A year ago my oldest kid finished 6th grade at Collège Jeu de Mail in Montpellier, France and I went to the pâtisserie Palais Saint Lazare for a dark chocolate and white chocolate and red fruit cake to celebrate the occasion. It's a great bakery that I discovered almost too late in our séjour and I remember the cake being perfectly delicious.

Graduation from 6ème!

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In the U.S. kids are assigned to school classes based on how their birth date compares to the start of the school year. In August of 2016 my daughter would have entered 5th grade in the U.S. because her 11th birthday falls before the end of the school year, and she would have been one of the oldest kids in her class. In France, however, kids born in 2005 were entering 6th grade and she would be one of the youngest kids in her class. In a scrappy school serving less-privileged Montpellerians, with no other Anglophone kids around.

From 4th grade straight to 6th, in a city she barely remembered, and in a second language. It was a huge challenge and she rocked it. Her courage inspires me all the time.