Day 19: First Day!

Today Madam joined K1 (lower kindergarten) at her new school.

Dressed in her new uniform and shoes, armed with her new bag and water bottle, she was pretty excited about the whole deal. She didn't even hesitate to wake up at 7:15am as opposed to her usual 8:30am. 

I was pretty apprehensive on how everything would go and I called upon all sorts of Gods to make the start as smooth as possible. 

The husband was away on a business trip, so I packed Madam up in a cab and proceeded to the school on my own. As soon as we reached, we were welcomed by the principal and several teachers, who were all waiting to greet parents on the first day of school. We were at least 20 minutes early, so there was a lot of attention. 

At first, the plentiful attention actually wasn't well accepted by Madam. She looked perplexed by all that activity and every time a teacher approached her to accompany her to the class, she took two steps back and shook her head vigorously. Thankfully the principal asked everyone to leave her alone and as a special consideration (since usually they take over from the parents right from the entrance), they let me accompany her all the way to the class. 

Once Madam set her eyes on the classroom and the class teacher, she was immediately at home. She happily walked in and comfortably stayed there for the next three hours or so. 

I spent some time in school to pay fees, buy books, talk to the principal, the vice principal etc. and then went to a nearby mall to buy some stuff, update the grandparents on the events, catch up on some work calls and enjoy a nice cup of tea as I waited for the school dismissal time. I returned to the school a few minutes prior to dispersal and watched the proceedings from a distance. We had booked a school bus one way from the school back home, and I wasn't sure if she would be comfortable in it on her own. So I was waiting in the school premises as a back up, in case she throws a fit. 

She didn't exactly throw a fit but she clearly showed her displeasure of having to travel in the school bus (which is more of a mini van), by staying rooted to the spot and refusing to get into it. The class teacher called me up for some help and after a bit of to and fro, it was decided that once again, as a special consideration, I shall be allowed to accompany her home on the bus just this one time. 

So both of us got in and she sat on my lap and clung to me almost the whole way. Just five minutes before we reached home, she insisted on sitting on the window seat and wear her own seat belt. I helped her with it and was happy about this positive step towards travelling on her own from tomorrow. 

Once we got back home, Madam declared that she "likes school but not the bus", which is a great start! 

We were expecting her to be dead tired after school and was expecting her to take a long afternoon nap, but nothing of that sort happened. Instead she was up and about the whole afternoon with double the energy as usual, possibly from all the excitement, and I actually had to take her to the library and grocery shopping to use up some of that energy! 

In a nutshell, it was a great first day! Am hoping that she takes the bus back home on her own tomorrow, but one step at a time! I am also very thankful with the school authorities for making it so flexible and bending all their rules for her!

It was indeed a great day for us and let me wrap up with this interesting conversation Madam and I had. 

Prior to her going to school, I had given her a little bit of advice ; "Some children may cry in the school asking for their Mummy and Papa. You should be nice to them and get them to stop crying and tell that that you would be their friend, OK?" I was hoping that this would help her realize that crying isn't a great option and she shouldn't be joining in if she finds any other child upset. 

And here's what happened. 

Me: Did anyone cry in the school today? 

Madam: Yes, one girl was crying all the time. 

Me: Oh no! Why? 

Madam: Because she wanted her mummy. 

Me (all excited to know how my advice was heeded): So what did you tell her? 

Madam (with adequate exasperation): I told her "HUSHHHH, HUSSSHHHH, Dont cry all the time!"

Me: But I had said... didn't you... OK never mind. And what did she say? 

Madam: She just cried louder and louder! I don't know why! 

Oh dear Lord. 

481 more to go.