The first day of school happened yesterday, and for both my girls, it was a big transition in their lives. Joey started Primary One and Jayne started Nursery - her first ever schooling experience.
I had expected Jayne to have some form of separation anxiety, as would most kids starting school. But I thought she would be able to cope better than Joey because Joey started school when she was 2.5 years old, and Jayne is already 3.5 years old now. Plus, she's been attending Children's Church every Sunday all by herself, so I thought it would be pretty easy to settle her down in class.
But obviously, it was a very stressful affair for her. When we reached the childcare centre, she looked apprehensive and hesitant when she entered the classroom. She chose to sit at a table with no other kids and played with the toys by herself. I'm sure you can tell that's a very nervous expression.
Then what followed was a two-hour session of coaxing, explaining, persuading and calming her down. Whenever I thought she was starting to relax and told her I was leaving, she would break into loud sobbing in between pleads of "Please don't go.... mummy.... stay with me.....". She even suggested that we start school another day (Nice try, baby). It was certainly harder than I thought.
Interestingly, she was paying attention to what was going on in the classroom even though she was watching me all the time to make sure I was still around. She clapped and sang during singing session and even shouted out answers when the teacher was telling a story. Finally, it seemed that she understood that mummy really needed to leave. While still crying, she agreed to go hold the Principal's hand and stayed with her. I left, feeling that my little baby might be scared to be all by herself, yet knowing it was all for her good. It's much easier for her to settle in if I am not around.
When we picked up Jayne from her school in the evening, she definitely looked like she had settled in alright. Had a chat with the teacher and she said she finished her lunch all by herself and took a short nap even though she resisted at the beginning. Of course, nothing beats listening to Jayne telling us how her day was. She was beaming from ear to ear, telling her what she ate for lunch (with major focus on how she finished everything in her bowl!), what songs they sang during shower time and before lunch, how they went outdoors to play blow bubbles etc. The best thing was that she said she enjoyed her day in school very much. What a big relief. :)
Joey, on the other hand, was very excited about starting school that she was all dressed for school two hours before the school bus pick-up time. But of course, you would know if you've been following me on twitter & facebook that there was a saga - School bus timing was changed and we were not informed. After waiting for 45 minutes and trying desperately to get through the line to the bus company, they finally sent a private MPV bus to pick Joey up. There was no one else in the bus, so hubby and I insisted on following them in the bus as well. What followed was a 30-minute journey to pick up several other kids who were missed out as well. Apparently, we were not the only ones who didn't get informed??!
Joey came home later in the evening really hyped up about her first day in school. She excitedly told us that school was fun and that she had porridge during recess time. A P3 buddy is attached to every P1 student, so her buddy brought her to buy food during recess time and showed her around. On top of her 60-cent porridge, she spent another $1 on a can of green tea - Really not very wise with spending money yet, obviously! We are cutting down her pocket money by half with immediate effect.
She came home with her iron-on name tags, which I promptly ironed onto her uniforms! =) While gobbling down her dinner, she passed me so many instructions about the next day's school. Haha! Joey's behaving like a very, very conscientious and responsible kid! Mighty proud of her. It's also a sure sign that she's taking her teacher's words seriously and has this good attitude that everything must be done properly according to instructions. I like that!
Joey also brought home letters to me from her Form Teacher and Chinese Teacher, both telling me that they are thrilled and honoured (errr seriously??) to be Joey's teacher. Education nowadays is really different from my time. The teachers gave me their contact numbers and email addresses, and encouraged me to write to them or leave notes in Joey's diary should I have any questions or need to talk about her behaviour in school etc. It's nice to know that teachers are willing to be easily contactable and available for chats.
Just the first day of school and I'm already feeling the vibe and excitement from Joey for greater things to come. I have this really good feeling that she's going to enjoy her Primary school life. Let's hope things will stay this positive when lessons start proper next week and homework start coming in! *fingers-crossed*
