Coretta's German Class

Coretta has had an excellent year and has thoroughly enjoyed her German class. As the year is coming to a close, they were videotaped by their teacher Frau Jessop role playing scenes in German. Here are the videos of Coretta and her classmates. Enjoy: German Role Playing

They have also had to speak conversational German to one another and here is a video of Coretta and her classmates doing that as well: Conversational German.

The last video is just students practicing their German in class: German Class

Way to go Coretta!

Father/Daughter Trip to Rotheburg Germany

Coretta and Nick decided that it would be great for them to have some father/daughter bonding time (highly suggested by Mama) so Nick planned a trip for them on the romantic road in Germany to see old medieval castles followed up with an intact medieval city named Rothenberg ob de Tauber. Friday afternoon, Nick, Coretta, Seamus, and Ron took off in the Audi for a three day adventure. There first stop was a town named Memmigen. This seemed like a good half way point on their road trip and they spent the night there. The hotel was right in the middle of the Aldstadt (old town) and they spent time exploring the small village, took a sauna, and called it a day knowing that the next day would be quite long.

The next morning, they packed up, jumped back in the car for destination Rothenberg. Instead of taking the romantic road, they opted for the autobahn which according to Nick does not have speed limits. He stated to me that he could have went even faster if he didn't still have the winter tires on the car. Me, being the skeptic, is still waiting to see if any speeding tickets come in the mail.

Once to their destination, they checked into the Eisenhut Hotel which was right in the heart of the medieval city. The building itself was as old as the 1500's and decorated in that era as well. The hotel looked like a museum or a castle and had several pieces of art on the walls.

The first day, they decided that they would take the Nightman's Watch Tour which is a guided tour of what this job entails and how important that job is in protecting their community. In Nick's own words, he stated "Great narrated walking tour. Although I realized for the first time that Rick Steve's-endorsed attractions come with a lot of fanatical, loud, and sometimes obnoxious Americans."

They also made their way up one of the many bell towers which was quite physically challenging considering there were many, many narrow steps in order to get to the top. Definitely not for the weak hearted. Once to the top, Ron took a picture of Coretta, Seamus, and Nick and they looked like little specs in the background of the tower. At the top of the bell tower, there was an exhibition that documented the Allied bombing of the town in 1945. The narrative was very critical, noting that there were no military or industrial targets, but that similar to the bombing of other smaller towns and villages, it was intended to break the morale of the Nazis.

They then spent the remainder of the day sampling German beers and looking at tourist shops with the kids. Coretta ended up getting several postcards and a slingshot with metal bullets (which when brought home was given a lecture how no one can use it and only shoot at trees).

The next day, being Sunday, they decided to spend this last day at the Medieval Criminal Museum, and it did not disappoint. Nick said that it was quite interesting and somewhat comical the different medieval forms of torture that they used. For instance, if you did something that would be unfavorable to the citizens in the village, you were ordered to wear the "mask of shame." These were medal masks shaped like animal heads and were used in hopes that it would deter the accused of committing the crime again. However, for those who took part in any sexual indiscretions, they would be forced to wear the pig faced mask (and I thought the scarlet letter was bad).

They also had medieval instruments of torture for punishing quarreling women. It was made out of wood and their hands and arms were locked in there until they reconciled their differences. My question is, what did they do to quarreling men?

They also had chastity belts on display as well as executioner swords. A sample inscription on the blade stated: "As this blade falls, may the condemned find absolution." Furthermore, they had different instruments labeled "witch catchers" (heaven forbid there would be a real witch among them), medieval electric chairs, thumb screws used to try to get confessions to certain crimes, as well as a medieval form of water boarding. This form of water boarding was used in France and Spain and they used holy water instead of well water. Hmmmm....interesting. Do you really think that holy water could absolve them from their sins?

It seems that in medieval times, one of the best ways to torture victims was with presses: leg presses, tongue presses, head presses...seems the best way to extract confessions is to tighten the screws around select body parts. Ouch!!

Once finished there, they decided to stop at two villages along the way. One of the villages was actually having a festival in the old area with music and food, so they stopped there. They fit in a lot in three days, but I think it was a memorable trip.

Coretta

Coretta school is coming to a close on June 25th. I know that many of you are thinking, "That seems really long" but when you consider all of the breaks she has, it really isn't. She has had a great year at the International School of Zug and will definitely miss her teacher Ms. Wunderlin.

She has learned all about rights and responsibilities, learned about caves, multiplcation, improved her writing and research skills, read several books from several different genres, learned how to speak German, and played the recorder. She has met people from several different countries with different cultural traditions and customs, and has continued her lessons in piano at the Hunenberg Music School with Miss Pauli. She has also become quite good at swimming being able to dive, do the backstroke, front stroke, and butterfly.

Next year she will be in the fourth grade. Since there are four sections of third graders, they asked each student to write down three people that they would like to have in their class next year. I like that they mix it up every year because they are able to meet new people.

I am very proud of Coretta's progress this year and her ambition to always do the extra credit homework assigned and to take her studies seriously. She is still growing into a beautiful young lady who tries to include others who also continues to show great leadership skills at home, in the neighborhood, and at school. As Coretta says, "I can't wait till next year! I'll be ten. You know that's double digits right Mom."

Little Geno

Geno's school for the year is quickly coming to a close. His teachers are very proud of his progress this year. They have really seen him come out of his shell. He is a very loving child and loves to give all of his teachers hugs and kisses. As soon as he gets into school, the first thing he wants to do is rough house with the older boys and play on the slide.

As for his speech therapy, we will be meeting with his speech therapist next Tuesday where she will let us know what steps we should take next. I am proud of his accomplishments in this area as well. He is beginning to string three word sentences such as "I want toe (toast), or I need Mowk (milk), or I need Daddy, I got owie, and I want jew (juice). He is actually even counting to three as well.

His favorite toys are leggos, his big wheel (which he can now pedal), his Winnie the Pooh train, and any small figurines (cows, dogs, dinosaurs) and his toy cars.

His favorite foods are peanut butter, grapes, apples, crackers, cheese, and spicy thai. This is my boy who is now two years and six months old.

Coretta's Sleep over

Coretta had her friend Melanie sleep over last night. They had a lot of fun eating snacks, watching movies, playing on the computer, and playing outside. Geno especially loved trying to hang out with the girls with very little luck. He however somehow managed to get a kiss and hug out of Melanie. Here's a photo of them eating breakfast this morning.

They also decided that Geno needed a make over, or at least Coretta did. Coretta put eyeshadow and lipstick on him. I would say, "Geno you are a boy", which he would reply "No!" Needless to say he enjoys appeasing his lovely big sister. In the photograph you can see how much of a willing participant he is as he puckers for the application of the lipstick. The lengths he will go to impress the ladies.

Damage Control

The other day, I put Geno in his height chair and got ready to give him a hair cut. All was going well considering I am getting good at the bob and weave move. Muhammed Ali would be proud. Until, Geno kept fussing and I, being preoccupied on being fast, forgot that the protector was not on (since I was cleaning up his neck line) and all of a sudden he had a huge bald spot. Mortified, I quickly called Nick to let him know what happened. Thank God he likes to wear his fisherman hats. I'm thinking in a couple of weeks it will fill in nicely. With that said, no amount of kind words can assuage my mother's guilt.

On a lighter note, Geno has learned how to pedal his bike. Here is a video of him doing just that. Enjoy!

Furenalp Family Hike

Today the family decided to drive to Engelberg and do some hiking in the Furenalp region of Switzerland. Once there, we found parking and Nick paid for our tickets on the gondola. Once in the gondola, it was a slow ascension to the top of the mountain. Geno became scared a couple of times because of the dips and held on to his Dad very tight. Once to the top, Geno yells loud and clear, "Yay!!" and all of the other people on the gondola with us laughed.

We then proceeded to the outdoor terrace where they served drinks, food, and desserts and ordered German sausages with hash browns and alpine macaroni for two. I have never had the opportunity to try alpine macaroni before, but it surely didn't disappoint. This is a Swiss mountain dish that includes penne pasta, cheese, caramelized onions, garlic, and potatoes. Coretta followed her dinner up with two scoops of chocolate ice cream that she shared with her Mom and brother.

While we waited for the food to arrive, Coretta jumped on the trampoline that overlooks the mountains in every direction and Geno enjoyed going up and down the gigantic green slide. After lunch, we took the gondola and decided to hike in the valley since much of the paths are paved and easy to navigate with the stroller. It is here that we heard the clanging of the famous Swiss cow bells, saw old farmhouses, majestic views of mountains, waterfalls, and the cleanest water I have ever seen. Geno and Coretta took some time to skip some rocks into the river and I even dipped my feet in.

Both kids fell asleep on the drive home. Great way to spend a day. There is nothing like nature, mountains, and hiking to replenish your soul. Here are a few more pictures from our hike at this link: Furenalp Photos