Day 1- Wednesday, 03 January 2007.
Anthea - i was with her in her K1 class to ensure she was ok. Lesson starts with morning assembly after breakfast. Then Chinese lesson with the Chinese teacher, 罗老师. After lesson, the children went outdoor for 1/2 hour outdoor play. They returned to class after the outdoor session. After cooling down, it was shower time. Anthea was taught to bath herself, which was quite an eye-opener for me. After bathing, the English teacher told them a story before lunch. Lunch was spaghatti with tomatoes based sauce with tau kwa, peas & corns, eggs. I think it was good as anthea finshed her lunch in a swift and she said it was delicious.
Anders - Siti was with him in the playgroup and she said he was ok, playing with all the toys and cooking set.
We went home after lunch and Day 1 ended well.
Day 2 - Thursday, 04 January 2007
Anthea - left her on her own in the K1 class and i observed that she managed pretty well.
Anders - i was with him the whole day, think it will take a while for him to get used to as this is his 1st time aways from us, Separation anxiety will sure to happen. The other area of concern is his mandarin. At home, anders is less exposed to mandarin,so when the teacher speak to him in mandarin, he had problems understanding...hopefully, he can pick up this language in school.
Day 3 - Friday, 05 January 2007
Anthea - she is well settled and at the end of the day, she told me she likes the new school very much. When i asked her why, she said she likes the English Teacher. I am not sure of her name yet but she looks very stern and i think it is good for the children.
Anders - he cried when i left him a while and i know that this was expected. Just need to keep reassuring him that i will be back to fetch him at certain times. I am glad we started him early so comes April when siti goes back Indonesia, he will be well settled, i hope.
I met a mother whose 2 daughters also started same time as the 2 A's junior. She kept asking me a lot of questions :
- "think they don't teach the children anything"
- "think they have more chinese teachers than english, not good for the children."
- "do you know the K1 syllabus ? U mean you only chose because of location ?"
- "teacher don't teach han yu pin yin"?
After all her questions, then i realised that i am not so concerned on all these issues as a mother. So is it a sign to indicate i am not a good mother?
My thinking is i want Anthea and Anders to grow up in a happy environment and not a STRESSED one, for sure. As a childcare centre, i know they will prepare the children well enough for their next stage of formal education. Of course, being a parent, we also have to responsibility to guide them along with their studies. Most important, to become a good and useful person... : )
Next week, i will be returning to work, so hopefully anders can settled well in school. Luckily for me, Siti is around to help me with the transition.
I bought a set of Power Rangers pyjamas for anthea and anders. These few days, they are happily wearing them at bedtimes.
4 comments:
Dun fret about what the other mum says... she's just into fault-finding. Children learn faster, better and quicker in a stress-free and learner-friendly environment. Just be there to guide and motivate them along in their journey to wisdom. A fault-finding parent isn't necessarily (and usually isn't) a better parent.
Time flies... I can still remember when Nichole, Anthea and Anders were just babies. Now, they are all going to school.
I feel that some parents are too anxious and competitive about their kids, afterall, some of these kids are still so young. Kids are only young once and they should also have time to play, be carefree and just be kids.
Don't worry too much of whether you are a good mother or not. Coz I personally feel that you are a good mom to both anthea and ander.
Some parents are indeed just making loud noises in front of ppl but do they really care, only they know. So don't bother to take note of their comments unless you yourself feel that way.
I started informal homeschooling with grace lately and realised that she may be slow when compared to those who attend childcare or 1/2 day class. Do i worry?? hmm...i feel the same as you. I do not want her to grow up in an environment full of stress when she is still so young. I know that she will catch up with the rest in time to come :)
Take care. Rest well.
Hi Nel,
Thanks for your kind words of advice,indeed,coming from a teacher like yourself, it really make me see a different point of view.
Yo...Eve,
Yeah, how times flies and how quickly they grow. Yes, i will definitely let them grow as carefree as they can,since they have so many pple to love them.
Hi Jean,
Thanks for the encouragement. I think you are doing a good job in homeschooling Grace. I think Grace is learning more than Anders...so don't think she is slow in any way.. : )
Take Care too!!
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