The first day of school

Year 2013 is going to be a year of changes for our family and for Kah Yen. To start with, she has just started school last week for three half days.

It was the first three days of orientation. I took leave to be with her. So how did I feel after three days? - Well, better than what I expected. Though saying Goodbye in the morning may still be a challenge for a period of time, I believe with the good routine in place and the caring of the teachers, she will be able to settle down soon.

The first day, we gave her breakfast at home. She cried at the entrance when the teacher asked her to sit down and take off her shoes for hand, foot and mouth disease check, I managed to calm her down. After saying byebye to Daddy, I carried her to her classroom. I too was a bit anxious for I did not know what to expect. When we went in, most kids had finished their breakfast and were sitting on the floor. Kah Yen refused to get down on her feet till I promised to sit down with her on the floor. To help ease her tension, I interacted with the other kids and guided her to interact with them. We shoke hands to make friends, we gave each other hi-five, and we even played row-row-row-a-boat with them. Soon all the other kids came to join us and it helped, Kah Yen started to run around with the rest of kids, to my great relief. I just sat on the floor and observed her.

There are only three new kids in Kah Yen's class (N1) this year, including herself. The rest of the kids were promoted from last year's playgroup. This is a good thing. It is less chaotic as I expected. No crying, no meltdown. The other two parents were just like me, trying their best to help their kids get used to the new environment.

Kah Yen finished lunch on her own, sat still at story time, went to the toilet with teacher and washed her own hands after that, interacted with the other children and danced, with me around most of the time of course.

We left after lunch and storytime since it was a half day orientation. I asked her if she liked school she said "Yes". I can't take the "Yes" 100% though, for it will be very different when she starts to attend full day and when we are not there with her. I just hope that she will get used to the new routine as soon as possible and starts to enjoy her school.