Our little boy goes to big school

From Feb2012

Nicholas started big school last week. He is in kindergarten this year. He started two weeks late, as we were overseas when school officially began. Phil and I were a bit nervous about our decision to let Nicholas start late, but after a pretty good first week, it turned out to be a good thing.

The first two weeks of school was a time for the kindergarteners to adjust, so the learning curriculum hadn’t started by the time Nicholas arrived. Another plus is that he has several classmates from his preschool class last year. We hope he continues to settle well in school. Here’s how his first week went:

Monday
The entire family saw Nicholas off on his first day of school. We all met his teacher, Mrs. Bresnan, and she showed us around the classroom. There are 3 kindy classes in one big room. He is in the KB2 (Bottlebrushes) class.

When the alarm rang, the children lined up outside for class. It was a bit overwhelming for all of us with so many kids and families around. Nicholas was at first hesitant and held on to Phil’s leg. Eventually he followed the rest of the children into class and we all said goodbye to him. There were no tears from him or us. However, I still felt like I needed a bit of company afterwards and stopped by my in-laws for a coffee with Catherine.

Tuesday
Phil dropped off Nicholas at school and I dropped off Catherine at childcare. At the end of the day, I picked up Nicholas from after-school care, which is at the school. So he had a long day, but was still happy enough (though really tired) by the time I picked him up. He had been at after-school care with his cousins as well.

Wednesday
Phil and I decided to switch and I dropped off Nicholas while Phil dropped off Catherine. Just before mid-day, we got a call from the school that Nicholas was sick. He was coughing a lot and crying. So I went to pick him up, but by the time I arrived, he was fine. We’re still not sure what exactly happened but it seemed like it had more to do with food being stuck in his throat then him being sick with an asthmatic cough. He didn’t want to go home, so I left him at school followed by another afternoon at after-school care.

After lunch, we got another call about Catherine having a gastro bug. I had to pick her up and take her home. So I didn’t get much done at work that day. Phil picked up Nicholas and they both attended the parent information session at school that evening. We had another long day, which ended with a takeaway dinner.

Thursday
At drop of this morning, I spoke briefly with Mrs. Bresnan and she told me how Nicholas was distraught yesterday when he couldn’t find his hat. The children aren’t allowed to play in the sun without a hat. She said that he was in a real state. I’m not sure if this was related to yesterday’s sick incident or something completely different. Anyhow, he did mention he couldn’t find his hat yesterday, so I made sure he knew where it was this morning.

After drop off, Catherine and I went for a walk along the lake. I pushed Catherine in the stroller and we went to the coffee kiosk at the Gallery for morning tea. We picked up Nicholas later that afternoon. I asked him about school and he told me about a big boy on the playground calling him a racist name which Nicholas thought was funny. The big boy may have had bad intentions, but I guess it was good that Nicholas didn’t take it that way. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it with Nicholas, but my thoughts and worries went on overdrive. I couldn’t help but worry about what the future would be like for him and Catherine. I managed to remain calm and told him that if he ever felt bad about anything anyone tells him then to tell his teacher and us. Then I realised that parenting just gets more and more complicated as they grow older.

Friday
Drop off was fine. Nicholas again played with a friend of his before they lined up. His cousins also stopped by briefly to say hello before the school day started.

Today was our first Friday family lunch without Nicholas. It was a little sad, but lunch went a lot quicker than usual. We realised that it’s easier dealing with one in tow. Interestingly enough, Catherine seems to be ok when Nicholas is in school. She doesn’t seem to miss him too much and is enjoying the one-on-one time (as am I) at home. She also gets so much more rest while he’s away.

I was happy to hear at the end of the day that Nicholas had played with his friend and cousin outside. His teacher also mentioned that she did some reading with him. We ended a big week with ice cream at home.