One unexpected benefit of living in Switzerland is that we get to experience a different approach to schooling. We may have mentioned previously that Bluet got to go out into the woods and cook sausages whilst she was in kindergarten. Well, the teaching of these vital life skills steps up a notch when you enter first class, as you can see by this letter we received home a few weeks ago, telling us that on the Monday of the next week, Bluet would be doing 'Ausflug' whereby they would again be going somewhere in the woods to learn knifecraft, and the children were then instructed that they could bring their own penknives, as long as they were of the permitted type with the non-pointed blade (pictured; Louis bought a pointed one with him and was not allowed to use it) - sold as my first swiss army knife in Switzerland. So Emily headed into town and found one for Bluet, which I think more or less instantly became her proudest possession (probably because, as she told me, Ilona was too little to have one). She had it engraved with her name too, which was fortunate as otherwise the teacher would've written on it with a pen. They taught her how to cut safely (e.g. cutting away), and how to close the knife safely, and then she made a magic wand. I am pleased to report she still has all her fingers. She was saddened however to not get a chance to play with fire, one of the other first class activities. And she is very jealous of the saw on my pen knife, as she believes this is only safe for bigger kids and adults, but would quite like to have them.
Anyway, on the Sunday whilst Emily, Ilona and Wilder were away, we went into the woods near our house, and both of us did some whittling with our respective knives.
