For me, it would also be my last kindy graduation for any of my kids. Hopefully though it would not be the last time I see any of my kids in graduation gowns and mortar board!
She was among the smallest in the line-up of graduates in her voluminous gown and was holding on self-consciously to her mortar board. I was fine all the way until I saw her collect her 'diploma' from the principal, bow and then promptly lose the mortar board as it fell off having been tied too loosely at the chin.
It dawned on me that this was really the last days of carefree childhood for her. From a sheltered Montessori education where she could learn at her own pace and find her own rhythm, she now had to conform to a beat not set by her but by a faceless bureacracy, just one of the many anonymous thousands of other kids.
I have to say a big thank you to Eileen, Maggie, Chen laoshi and all the teachers at Lumiere who have untiringly and patiently worked with Trin - and Owain - over the years. They took child-centric education to a whole new level. I don't know if any other kindy would have done the same. Perhaps the Montessori structure allowed it, but it also took their special brand of commitment to see it through all the way. Eileen in particular has always been warm, kind and nurturing to the kids. And even when I was at my most pessimistic about Trin ever making it to P1, and my fears on whether she could cope or be swallowed by the system, Eileen was always reassuring and confident. She gave me her frank observations and recommendations - whether it was to let Trin stay longer in the nursery class, to allow her to transition upwards at her own pace undictated by age or level and she did so with honesty, kindness and generosity.
That went a long way to easing the apprehension I had. My kids grew up with them and I was glad they did. I made the right choice when I decided to put Owain in Lumiere. It benefited him and Trin. They grew in this intimate, small-school family environment which took care of them and allowed them to grow whenever they were ready.
All this went through my mind as I saw her standing there, so small and yet ready to graduate and move on to a different level.
In the darkness of the auditorium, I teared up. I couldn't help it. I tried to wipe the tears away surreptitiously, hoping KH would not see. He would never let me live it down for being so sentimental.
But the tears just kept coming. These days would never come again. While I celebrate her being up there and growing up, in weird way, I was also mourning the end of babyhood for her and for me. I will really miss these days.
2 comments:
How come Montessori has "Nursery" and other levels? Isn't it all mixed?
JR is in a mixed-age setup. No demarcations of levels. Not specifically Montessori either. It seems to suit him and he has no problems interacting with the older kids in other places as well.
They do have levels but it is rather loosely organised. There is enough fluidity and flexibility that allows inter-level interaction. Trin, for example was working in the nursery group even though she was already of K1 age when she started. She had no issues working with the younger group. I think kids generally adapt very well and I saw this in Lumiere.
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