Catching up

With all that has happened in the past weeks, I have not posted on what's happening at Riang. So I thought a quick post would be in order today to bring things up to speed.

Well the biggest event so far was Back-to-School Day on 2 Jan 2008! One of those days where you wished you could split yourself into many parts so that you could be at several places at once!

A big day for us because it was Sec 1 for Gillian, P1 for Caitlin and K1 for Owain. KH sent Gillian to school (and will continue to do so because KC starts at 7.25am and the school is VERY strict on punctuality, and given the journey from my place, if G were to take a bus, she would have to leave the house at 6am! So we decided that KH would send her to school and she would take public transport back home.) at 6.30am while I stayed home to get Owain ready for school.

He didn't have the school uniform yet (long story) so went to school in his King of Cool tee! He was grumpy because he woke up too late to have his brekkie of instant noodles, but was a really cool trooper who gamely went up the school bus, said bye-bye mummy loudly and went off all by himself. I was so proud of him but can tell you that my heart also ached so badly. It was the first time in his life that I ever let him go anywhere without me or someone from the family.

He's growing so fast and going off to school by himself without mummy is the first step towards independence. I'm not sure if I'm ready for it.

Then KH came home and we drove to O's school where KH parked himself at the side gate to wait for O's bus to arrive, armed with camera. I went off to get the uniforms sorted.

When the bus finally arrived, late, KH started clicking like mad. O looked so cute. He's got this perpetual resigned stoic look about him, like "I don't really like it/I'm a bit apprehensive, but lets get this over with!" And as usual the teachers oohed and aahed over him because he's just so cute - he was the tiniest kid there - even smaller than the girls! There were only the K1 and K2 kids there that morning and I can safely say he's the smallest of the lot. But oh so cute with his curly hair, round face and patiently resigned look!

I settled him in, changed him into his uniform, and while we were at it in the loo, shot a stream of breastmilk into his eye since he had a bit of pink-eye that morning. He looked even more adorable in his school uniform - green shorts, cream shirt and green tie! And because they were a bit oversized, he looked like one of the kids in The Little Rascals.

A whole bank of parents were hanging around outside the classroom - yes yours truly included! KH was busy snapping pictures of his son at the table, his son eating Oreos for brekkie, his son drinking Milo, his son at circle time, his son singing a song... you get the picture!

It may be early days yet but I didn't think I had good vibes about O's teacher. Certainly not the full confidence that I found in Caitlin's teacher Teacher Trace. O's teacher seemed a bit hesitant and did not seem able to create the same type of rapport or atmosphere with the kids in class. When I registered him for school, I asked for him to be in Teacher Trace's class, but the office was evasive and fudged me off. It was only after I had paid the fees etc, walked over to Teacher Trace's class to say goodbye, thank-you etc that I found out that she was leaving! There and then I was tempted to pull O out and put him in the same kindy she was joining - Good Shepherd Kindy at Nallur Road. The knowledge that MK was getting a new principal fresh from Kinderland also did not sit well. I liked the laidback, learn-thru-play, no pressure atmosphere at MK and was a bit apprehensive that Kinderland (having had prior experience of Kinderland in G's time) might change that. And that first-day morning, meeting his teacher and watching how she interacted with the kids in class, my confidence level just didn't feel good. So I told KH I'd give it a term and see. If I still didn't get good vibes, I am not averse to the idea of pulling him out and putting him in Good Shepherd Kindy.

After I managed to pry the proud daddy and his camera away from the K1 class windows, we headed for a late brekkie at one of my favourite wanton mee places at Tembeling Road - yum! Then it was off home to take Cait to school. She was dressed in her uniform, ready and eager to go since 10am even though school only started at 2.30pm! By the time we left the house, she had bugged us no end about "is it time to go to school now??"

CHIJ TP was really no-nonsense. I had imagined at least taking her up to the hall, watching her as she sat with her class and waving bye-bye as the class went off to the classrooms. But no, hordes of equally bewildered parents had their plans for long, lingering and loving goodbyes cut short by efficient teachers who cordoned off the stairway to the hall, firmly taking charge of the girls and leading them upstairs - no parents allowed to follow. I could almost hear the silent "But - but - but!!" going on. KH, like them, was deprived of his photo ops. So I just kissed her, told her to have fun and to enjoy school, handed her over to the VP and left.

Cait was her usual sanguine self - sunny and eager for school. So I have no worries. For now. This might just come and bite me in the butt two weeks later. I seem to recall saying the same thing about her in K1 but once the novelty wore off, she howled for months in the morning, whined about putting on her uniform, developed a tummy ache, cried on Sunday nights and generally acted like school was anathema to her.

But for now at least, she seems happy to go to school. She came home at 6.50pm in her school bus, her neatly tied up hair now half undone and eyes shining, waving goodbye to her other P1 mates in the bus - who would have a long long ride home since they lived in Changi and Pasir Ris! (Yes I kid you not. I really wonder why these parents do this to their children.)

Dinner at home that day was a raucous affair with everyone trying to speak (and all with their mouths full!) at the same time. Everyone seemed positive and chirpy. Isaac was happy to be with his sidekick Patrick again, after being cruelly separated by the school holidays for more than 6 weeks. Gillian said she made some friends - girls from KC Pri (and warning bells started to ring in my head, I had seen the KC Pri girls in her class and they looked a fun, havoc bunch!) and generally thought school was fun and boring - yes have fun figuring out the paradox! Owain said he liked school, but did not make any friends (and no, contrary to his sister teasing, no girl has said he was cute yet!) and oh yes, he peed in his pants in the bus! The journey is long - about an hour - even though MK is just a straight 5min drive from our house by car! So O said he could not 'tahan' anymore and peed in his pants "a bit!". So I told him that he should go to the toilet before getting on the bus and to raise his hand, tell his teacher and ask to go. He's been faithfully doing this since and has not wet himself since that day. Caitlin said school was fun, teacher is nice, she liked it a lot and even though she can't remember the names of her table-mates, it was lucky to have Juliet (her MK classmate) in the same class!

I told KH that it was good to hear that they all had good experiences so far - but geez, my babies were growing up and away from me. It's too soon! I only have Trin at home and in a few short years, she too would take the first steps on that bus to K1 and that would be the beginning of letting go. Maybe we should have another baby? I suggested. Sigh, went he. Heh.